Inner Daemons
by Wanda Ginny Greenleaf
Summary: When Mayasa betrays her, Ichigo falls into a soulless state and wakes up in a world of daemons. When her shadow starts attacking and the wrong people find out about the Mew Project, will she scummb to the shadows and become a full daemon? KxI, TxP...
1. Chapter 1

**Inner Demons**

**Moon: My first horror fic! Time to experiment with the demon concept!**

**Ichigo: Why do I have a bad feeling about this...?**

**Moon: Maybe because I'm planning on sending your conscious mind to a dark world and maybe pair you with Kish...**

**Ichigo: WHAT THE CRAP? THAT WAS _NOT _IN THE CONTRACT!  
**

**Moon: That won't matter...you're under my power now. I does not own TMM or MMP...or else THIS would happen!**

**Full Summery: After finding out Mayasa has betrayed her, Ichigo falls into a strange, soulless state she doesn't resurface from. She soon finds out that she's trapped in a world of demons, and if she doesn't get out fast, her soul will twist and warp until she becomes one of them. When Lettuce and Pudding get trapped in that world while trying to wake her and the wrong people find out about the truth of the Mew Mew Project, will Ichigo succumb to the darkness? KxI PxT LxP possible RxOC and ZxK.**

**Chapter 1: Agony and Falling into Shadows**

"NYA~! I'M LATE!" Ichigo cried, throwing on her school uniform and rushing down the stairs. "This is the third day in a row! My teacher's gonna be MAD AS HECK!" She grabbed her school bag and ran out the door.

It was a cloudy day, and everyone seemed twice as grouchy. After getting hollered at for being late, Ichigo managed to get her homework in and sit down.

The entire school day was blurry. To Ichigo, it seemed that every girl was staring at her and giving her weird looks. Finally, when it came to recess, what seemed to be every girl in the school body surrounded her.

"Ichigo!" they cried.

"Is it true?" One asked.

"Has he really left you?" Another pestered.

"What happened? Were you rude to him?"

"Did you ignore him?" They seemed to be ready to die for answers.

"What are you all talking about?" Ichigo asked, flustered.

"MAYASA!" They all cried simultaneously. "He's asked Nami out?"

"WHAT?" Ichigo cried.

The girls looked at each other in confusion. "Uhhh...don't you know?" The first girl asked. "He said you broke up with him over the phone three days ago."

"I didn't!" Ichigo cried. "No. I won't believe it!" She wormed her way through the crowd and ran away from the bewildered girls as quickly as she could.

**/Later that day**

Ichigo was walking down the street, through the park. Her mind was spinning from what the girls at school had told her. _It can't possibly be true, not after everything we went through, the mew project, the defeat of Deep Blue- _Her train of thought abruptly broke off. Two teens were kissing by the fountain. At first she didn't recognize them, but after a second they broke apart and she saw Mayasa's face.

"Ugh, look at the time!" The blonde girl exclaimed. "I've gotta go."

"Do you have to?" Mayasa complained. "You've only been here ten minutes."

"Sorry Mayasa-kun, but if I wait much longer I'm gonna be late for dance class!" Nami kissed him again and ran down the road.

Ichigo just stared blankly, her mind still processing everything that had just happened. The bell that Mayasa had given her slipped off her neck, as if cut by something. Gradually, she became aware of a coldness seeping over her body, like someone was running a finger down her spine.

"_Sleep._" A voice urged. _"I will avenge your broken heart. Just...sleep..._" It was as if someone who's body was made of ice had leaned over and embraced her. Everything went numb. The sky grew dimmer and dimmer.

"What's...hap...en...ing..." Ichigo could vaguely hear people crying out in fear and alarm as she hit the ground. The world went black for a while...

**/With the people in the park**

Mayasa looked the way Nami had disappeared and sighed. "Too bad...I was hoping she'd stay longer..."

Suddenly, people around him started screaming. Their voices were filled with fear, as if they had come face to face with the devil.

"Oh my god, what is that?"

"What's wrong with that girl?"

"Run away!" People pushed him to the ground and nearly trampled him while running away from the park. Getting up with a groan, he looked up...and his blood ran cold.

Ichigo was lying on the ground, her brown eyes staring soullessly at the sky. But it was the entity in front of her that he was staring at. It was a girl...she looked a little like Ichigo's mew form, with the same pink hair, eyes, cat ears and tail. But her outfit had become a pink satin dress that had strange red streaks on them. Purple spiked boots graced her feet, and long silver claws extended from her fingers. There was a pink sash along her seductively slender hips, and there were two knives and a gun resting on it.

"I...Ichigo?" Mayasa's voice shook. The girl threw back her head and laughed darkly, curling her lip back to reveal fangs. Sharp, pointed fangs.

"I should probably be thanking you." She spoke. Her voice resembled Ichigos, but it was colder, laced with ice and hate. "But at the same time, I utterly despise you. You are responsible for the pain in my chest. Insofar as I can call it heartbreak...demons, shadows like me, don't _have _hearts. And yet still hurts." her clawed fingers ran gently over her chest. "And it won't go away..."

The girl stalked towards him, slowly pulling out the longer one of her knives. Mayasa backed away, until he bumped into a tree. "...until I destroy the cause." She let loose another icy laugh. "My hikari may have loved you endlessly, but I am not so sweet or forgiving."

"W-What do you want from me? M-money? I-I'll give you as much as you want!" Mayasa cried.

The girl's fangs slipped over her lips. "Foolish boy." She raised her knife high.

The terrified screams of a boy could be heard for miles around...

She pulled her knife out of his body. "You aren't dead. Yet. I just want to savor your pain. UGH!" The demon girl let out a sudden exclamation of pain, then looked back towards Ichigo. "Damn. My hikari's spiritual strength must be running out..."

Sighing, she sheathed her knife. "Oh well. I'll have to finish evening the score with certain people in her life when she recovers." There was a flash of red light, and the girl was gone, leaving a bunch of ally cats to mew in confusion.

**/Lettuce's P.O.V.**

"What's going on?" Mint asked in irritation. "Even for Ichigo, this is beyond late!"

"Should I go looking for her?" I suggested. Ryou nodded, annoyed.

"Yes Lettuce, you go do that. And she better have a good excuse for being this late!"

"Pudding will come with you na no da!" The hyper orange haired girl announced. I smiled.

"Then let's find our friend." We both headed out the door and down the street. We looked everywhere we could think of until we finally reached the deserted park. And what I saw nearly made me scream.

Aoyama-san was slumped against a tree, stabbed repeatedly by a knife. There was blood all around him. And a little ways away, Ichigo lay unmoving. Running over, I knelt.

"Ichigo? Ichigo!" Her eyes stared blankly at the sky. They were just a sea of brown. No sign of life or the warm spark that made her the Ichigo I knew and loved as a sister.

"Ichigo-nee-chan?" Pudding whimpered. "This isn't funny na no da! Wake up! Ichigo!"

We tried everything we could think of, but no amount of pinching or shaking woke her. The worst part was the fact her body was ice cold. No sign of warmth or life, except for the rapid beating of her frightened heart. And there was this lingering chill in the air...I felt like someone was running a finger down my spine...

"_Sleep well hikari..." _A voice sang softly. "_...my hikari...rest your tired, broken soul...shine, please, my hikari..." _

"Hikari?" I mumbled. "Doesn't that mean 'light'? Who's there? And why are you calling Ichigo-san your hikari?"

No answer came, just the sound of a soft, ice-cold lullaby. Call me crazy...but it _sounded _like Ichigo's voice, but different, somehow...

I looked between my dear friend and Aoyama-san, grabbed my mobile and dialed 911. "Please help! My friend's been attacked!"

_There is something seriously wrong with this..._

**/Ichigo's P.O.V.**

I had no idea where I was, how I got there, or why I was even there in the first place. I was sitting in some dark, cold place. The wind howled around me, and water sloshed by my feet. I felt so exhausted I couldn't move.

"Sleep, hikari." A voice sang. "Sleep, rest your broken soul..."

"Who...are...you...? Why...do you...call me...your light?" I called into the star-lit sky. The only reply was the wind...howling through the trees..

I lay down, deciding to take a nap. Before I fell asleep I could have sworn I saw a girl who looked like me, only demonic, leaning over me, singing that same lullaby. "Sleep well hikari..." She kissed my forehead, and I sank into a dark, cold, dreamless sleep.

**/Lettuce's P.O.V.**

Ichigo's parents were frantic. The entire park was taped off, and me and Pudding were questioned for _hours_, asked repeatedly if we had seen anything or anyone strange in the area. And each time we said no. I resisted the urge to tell them about the whole finger down my back thing though; it could be explained perfectly logically. I was just freaked out about my friend's condition and my mind was playing tricks on me.

But somehow I felt like I was just fooling myself. A lingering chill told me something was stirring.

Something dark.

Something with no mercy.

**End Chapter**

**Well...I hope that turned out the way I wanted it too...I guess I'll just wait and see what the reviews say. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Inner Demons!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Inner Demons**

**Moon: 5 favorites, 2 alerts, 2 fave authors, and 2 author alerts...all a day after I posted the first chapter...**

**Ichigo: It's a freaking miracle...**

**Moon: That's the first time I got stats like that except maybe when I was working on The Past Bites...anyway! Here's the next chapter of Inner Demons! **

**Ichigo: BladeofMoonlight does not own TMM or MMP.**

**Chapter 2: Darkness Rising**

**/With Ichigo**

Groaning, I sat up. And man did my head hurt! I pressed my palm against my forehead and looked around. I was sitting on a moonlit beach. The water splashed against the shore, and clouds drifted across the star-less sky. "Where am I?"

"Hikari! You're awake!" My head snapped up. If I had been drinking water, it would have been the greatest spit-take ever.

A girl who looked like me in my mew form-except wearing a satin dress and spiked silver boots-was sitting on a rock nearby. She grinned, showing off a set of pointed fangs.

"Who...who are you?" I asked shakily. The air itself seemed almost oppressive all of a sudden, as the girl swung her legs over the side of the rock and met my gaze.

"I am...you. Well, your demon shadow anyway." The girl shrugged. "You can call me Shade."

"Demon? Shadow? What the heck!" I exclaimed. "What is-how did-why-" I tried to finish, but it seemed that the connection from my brain to my mouth was malfunctioning.

Shade tipped her head to one side. "Are you going to be finishing any of those questions?" She giggled. "Well, I'll start with the simple stuff. First, I'm your shadow, your link to the dark world. Everyone has one."

"Uh...okay...?" I stammered, trying to recompose my voice. "Next question, then-why do you keep calling me Hikari?"

Shade blinked. "Because you are my light." She replied, as if the answer had been obvious. "This world is complete darkness, where we reside unless our hikari's need protection. Your light is bright and warm, and is my beacon in this place. You light up the world around you. More so than normal people." Her eyes darkened. "However...ever since you got hit by that weird laser thing, you light has dimmed and dimmed. Your pain hurts me in ways I doubt you'll understand. All because of _them_."

Shade bared her fangs, and I scooted back a little, scared. "No-one gets away with hurting my Hikari like this." She hissed. "I'll make them all pay...yes I will..."

Suddenly, she vanished. And I was left alone with a throbbing headache.

**/Lettuce's P.O.V.**

"Ryou, I had to. We don't know what's wrong and Ichigo needs professional treatment!" I protested.

"What about the blood tests?" Ryou snapped. "What will the public think if they find out about the Mew Mew Project?"

I sighed. I knew that, but Ichigo needed help. "I'd rather take my chances than see Ichigo-san dead or worse."

"You do realize that just blew our cover, right?"

"Yes, I do!" I exclaimed. "But I couldn't afford to take chances. We're talking about Ichigo's life!"

Before Ryou could yell at me again, there was an authoritative knock on the Cafe door. With a sigh of relief, I hurried over and opened it. "Sorry, we aren't going to open today."

"I realize that." A young woman about Ryou's age was standing in the doorway. She was wearing jeans and an offical-looking jacket. Her otherwise long black hair was clipped back and she gave me a long look, her sharp jade-colored eyes gleaming with intelligence. "But I'm not here to eat treats. I'm Alicia Roberts, and I'm here to ask you and your boss a few questions." She smiled slightly at me. "About your red-headed friend."

**/A few minutes later, still with Lettuce**

Alicia sat down in front of me and Shirogane-san, a more serious expression on her face. "Midorikawa-san? When you found your friend, did you see anyone or anything strange in the area?"

"No miss." I replied honestly. "The park was empty."

"Yes...the park had been abandoned not very long before you came looking for Ichigo." Alicia stated. "People claimed to have seen a girl with murder in her eye appear seemingly out of no where, seconds after Ichigo fainted. The reports are inconsistent, but I believe there's something going on. Are you absolutely sure the park was empty apart from Ichigo and Mayasa?"

I nodded vigorously. "I'm absolutely sure ma'am. If there was a killer there, she had left by the time I reached the park."

"I see." At least she believed me so far. "Had Ichigo been acting strangely at all before this? Were there any signs she was angry or upset about something at a very high level?"

"Uhhh..." I was getting confused. What was she driving at? "Well...I heard from her friends that her boyfriend cheated on her. She was really close to him and took their relationship straight to her heart. The boy is Mayasa-from the park."

Alicia sat back in her chair, a thoughtful look on her face. "Interesting...do you think Ichigo was mad enough to attack him with a knife?"

I jumped to my feet, almost knocking the table over. "NO! Ichigo-san would never stoop to assault!" _Not counting the times we had to fight aliens and Chimera Animals. _

"I was just trying to get the facts." The detective said calmly. "I wasn't trying to offend you. But if Ichigo didn't attack, it must have been someone-or some_thing_-else."

When she said that, the room seemed to get cooler. And I could have sworn I got the same finger-down-my-back feeling I had gotten at the park. "What do you mean, some_thing?_" I whispered.

Alicia's expression darkened, and she seemed to sit up straighter. "Recently, there have been a string of attacks and murder attempts in different parts of Tokyo. I've seen people in hospitals after being bashed by iron poles...stabbed repeatedly by a bladed weapon...even being pulled of a wreak after a freakish runaway train incident. And whenever we talked to a prime suspect, they insisted that they had fallen unconscious...and that there was this voice, calling them 'hikari'."

My blood ran cold. I remembered very clearly the haunting lullaby that had hung in the air after me and Pudding found Ichigo. I opened my mouth to say something...but no words came out. _No. not that part. Remain silent. _Huh? There was a strange voice in my head...

Alicia took my stunned expression as a request to continue. "It's strange. Those people are all teenagers, and they all seem to be having heightened emotional stress. There was one poor girl who was being beaten by her alcoholic father. One day he put her mother in the hospital. The next day we find him in an alley, after being brutally stabbed and shot in the arms and legs, left painfully conscious. Another teen, a boy, was being forced into a gang against his will. The same day they followed him to a train station there was a completely unexpected crash. The train went out of control, smashed off the rails and into a river. The boy survived, but the gang died on impact."

I must have been shaking, because Alicia's expression softened. "It's okay, Lettuce. I'm not an enemy. I just want to help Ichigo before she gets caught up in a situation like these other kids."

I swallowed hard and nodded. _Be careful, hikari. _The voice from before was back. _People like that will lie to gain your trust. _Hikari? No. No. I'm just imagining this. I'm imagining it. I don't have a little voice in my head. Right?

**/Shade's P.O.V.**

I learned against the door, cat ears pricked. _That human is onto us. _I cursed quietly. _We're getting sloppy..._I heard the door open. I moved to leave, then paused.

_Wait, wait, wait. She's a detective, right? Maybe...I can use this to my advantage. _Smiling, I waited until the black-haired woman had closed the door to Cafe Mew Mew. Then I kicked some pebbles at her.

She turned, saw me, and gasped. My smirked widened, until I was sure she could see my fangs. Then I turned and ran around the building. I listened, satisfied to hear her quick footsteps as she followed close behind.

I forced the window to the basement open and slipped inside, goading her into following me. When I was sure she had gotten inside, I ran for the computers. My body was getting heavier...I couldn't stay outside her body for much longer...

_C'mon, Hikari. Just a little longer..._I fiddled with the keypad until the Mew Project came up. Then I turned and faced the detective, who had just pulled out a gun. "Stay where you are!" She barked.

I shook my head. "Sorry, no can do. My hikari needs me."

**/Alicia's P.O.V.**

"My hikari needs me." With those words, the girl disappeared into thin air. Literally. No flash of light or puff of smoke, she just vanished.

Slowly I lowered my weapon and looked around. The computer was still on. I walked over and checked it out. "Project Mew Mew? I don't remember any authorization for..." Whatever I was going to say trailed off as I read the data.

My eyes grew wider and wider the further I read. I pulled out a data stick and copied everything there. When I finished, I shook my head. "The world might need to know if we're being attacked by aliens! Boss is not going to be happy when he hears about this..." I quickly headed back for the window the girl had lead me to. After what I had just found out, she was the least of my problems.

**/Ichigo's P.O.V.**

I had spent the whole day slipping in and out of unconsciousness. And that damn splitting headache wouldn't. go. away! I swear, when Shade gets back I am so going to-

"Hikari!" No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, I was back on the shadowed beach, and Shade was running over to me. After taking my pulse and my temperature, she sat down next to me. A frown crossed her face. "You need headache medication. Why haven't you asked for it?"

"I did!" I exclaimed crossly. "But it only made me feel better for a little, and then my head started hurting again! It has something to do with you being outside my body, doesn't it?"

Shade nodded. "It has to do with your spiritual strength. The headache you were getting was a sign that you don't have very much, and I was putting a strain on your soul."

"You mean..." My mouth tasted like metal. "You could have destroyed my spirit?"

Shade stared at me as if I had just announced that I had believed the world was flat. "What? I wouldn't do that! I know your limits, hikari. In fact, I know more about you than anyone, even your parents. I wouldn't destroy you if I could help it! But it is true." She added. "If I'm not careful, I could damage, or shred, your spirit."

I put a hand on my still-throbbing head and gave her an aggravated look. "What on earth was so important that you had to strain my limits? Because it isn't a very pleasant experience!"

Shade looked down like a scolded puppy. "I'm sorry hikari, I really am. I was just setting the record straight with that blonde jerk who transformed you."

"Pardon? You mean Ryou?" I asked.

Shade's rosette eyes narrowed darkly. "Yes. The son of a gun who got you into the crap with the aliens in the first place. I do have one question hikari-why on earth didn't you tell anyone about it? Do you think it's okay for someone to go around splicing you with animal DNA and get you involved in a fight for earth's survival without your okay?"

"I-It would have put the people I knew in danger!" I exclaimed.

"I know. But that's why there's such thing as the military. They're supposed to protect the people. Not a group of reluctant teenagers." Shade pointed out. "He had no right to do destroy your life like that! And I've taken steps to make sure he pays for it."

My eyes widened. "You...you haven't hurt him, have you?"

"Nope." Shade grinned again. "He's going to be in major trouble with the law."

**/Lettuce's P.O.V.**

I sighed as I continued to sweep the Cafe floor. Ryou was pacing back and forth, cursing.

"Shirogane-san, please calm down." I said, stopping for a second.

"How can I calm down?" Ryou yelled. Pudding jumped in surprise. "We're in danger of being discovered and Ichigo's hurt, and you want me to calm down?"

"Shirogane-san, I'm sure she'll be fine-"

"I don't care what you think! I want Ichigo!"

I jumped, surprised, feeling my heart breaking slightly. "B-But Ryou, I..."

"I don't want your feelings." He spat. "I love Ichigo! No one else! You're nothing like her, your clumsy and forgetful. You have similar power but you'll never have her fire!"

There was silence. Tears boiled behind my eyes, and my mop fell to the floor with a clatter. Upon seeing my tormented expression, Pudding walked over and stepped on Ryou's toes. Did I say stepped? I meant stomped as hard as possible.

"OWOWOWOW!" Ryou yelled in pain and jumped up and down. A choked sob escaped my throat. I turned and ran for the doors, throwing them open.

Ice-cold winds whipped around my body, making me look up in surprise-it was supposed to be a warm, spring day. Through my tears, I could see the blurry image of a girl who looked like me...except she was wearing a green tank top, black skin-tight jeans, and had two large guns hanging at her hips. Oh, and did I mention she looked **extremely**pissed off?

_No one has the right to treat you like this hikari! _A voice in my head shrieked angrily. _I'll make him pay...yes I will! _She embraced me tightly. I can remember Pudding crying out anxiously before I hit the floor, and everything went dark.

**/Pudding's P.O.V.**

"Onee-chan!" I cried, running over to Lettuce and rolling her over. Her body was freezing! All I could feel was the rapid beating of her heart, the only testament that she was still alive. I looked at her eyes. They were blank and were pure green, without pupils. I swallowed hard. That was the same look Ichigo-onee-chan had when we found her at the park! Why?

"Don't worry, little one." Sniffing, I looked up. My eyes widened as I stared at a punk-looking version of lettuce, who's blue eyes were burning with anger. She knelt and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Hikari's just unconscious."

"Who are you?" I sniffed.

"Her demon." The girl answered. "You can call me Leviathan or Levi for short." She stood up, took out a gun and leveled it at Ryou, who took a step back, a terrified expression on his face.

"You jackass!" She screamed angrily. "How dare you hurt my hikari!" There was a loud crack, and I instinctively covered my ears. Ryou's pained shriek told me all I needed to know though. I took a peek at them. Levi was still holding him at gunpoint, and he was clutching his arm.

As if timed by fate, the wail of a siren sounded outside. Levi swore viciously before shouldering her gun and vanishing right before my eyes!

"Pudding Fong?" I blinked and turned, shaking, towards the detective who had come here earlier. Alicia gave me a worried look. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine na no da." I whimpered. "But Lettuce-onee-chan's not moving!" Alicia checked her pulse and a dark look crossed her face. A couple other guys came over and picked up Lettuce. One of them offered to walk me home. I accepted, too scared to walk home alone.

As we were leaving, I heard Alicia's voice from inside. "Mr. Shirogane, you are under arrest for the crime of training Child Soldiers."

**End Chapter**

**Author's Note:**** Ohh, things are heating up! I don't know if I paced this chapter very well, so please let me know what you think :) I think that some demons will have opposite personalities to their 'hikari'. So while Lettuce is clumbsy, shy and forgiving, Leviathan will be graceful, outward and have NO temper whatsoever. Now, please leave a review! **

**Please? It'll only take a second or two (has kitty eyes as she asks)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Inner Demons**

**Me: Welcome back everyone! Here's the third chapter of Inner Demons!**

**Shade: Yay, another chapter!**

**Levi: What happens now? Do I get to kill the blonde jerk? (hopeful)**

**Me: Sorry Levi, but I need Ryou alive to work out parts of the plot.**

**Levi: Dang it! **

**Shade: I'll do the disclaimer! BladeofMoonlight does not own TMM or MMP...duh...if she did, why would this be called _fan_fiction? (rolls eyes) Enjoy!**

**/Chapter 3: Sasha, and the three aliens return**

**/Ichigo's P.O.V.**

I've been stuck in the hospital for two days now, and I'm really bored. And Shade is bored. And Masha is bored. In short, we're all bored.

_Shade, if you're my protective shadow, why couldn't I talk to you before this?_

_It's a long story, hikari._

_You know I have plenty of time, right? I'm getting bombarded by tests, so it's not like I have better things to be doing._

Suddenly, Masha started flying around my head. "Alien alert! Alien alert!"

"Huh?" I grabbed the puffball gently and stared at him. "Do I need to get you a tune-up? There aren't any aliens here..."

"No tune-up! No tune-up!" The puff protested.

There was a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called.

The door swung open, and a boy my age stepped in. My jaw fell open. Although he was dressed differently, to blend into the human world, I'd recognize that green hair and those molten gold eyes anywhere.

"Hi kitten!" Kish said, smiling. He was holding a box of some sorts under his arm.

"K-K-Kish?" I stammered.

_Isn't that one of the aliens who attacked earth? _Shade asked through our yami-hikari link.

_Y-Yes, but what the heck is he doing here?_

"That's my name kitten, don't wear it out." Kish replied, his trademark playful smirk appearing on his face. He walked over and sat down on a chair next to me.

"What are you doing here, Kish? How long have you been here? How's your planet going?" The questions came out before I had a chance to stop them. I admit, my mind had kept swinging to him recently, for reasons I didn't understand myself. Maybe it was because Mayasa had cheated on me, so I started thinking about the other guy who had confessed his love for me.

Kish smiled. "Actually, me, Pai and Tart have been here several days. After the Mew Aqua restored our planet, everyone started treating us as heroes. It's nice there now, but kinda boring. And we wanted to see you mews, so we came here. It took us a couple days to get everything in order, but I've finally gotten a chance to visit you."

"Oh..." My voice trailed off, and I tried to think of something intelligent to talk about. "Well...uh... wait. You mean you've been here a while...and you _haven't _stalked me?"

Kish giggled. "Shocked?" His smile fading a bit, he added. "How'd you get in the hospital? Are you hurt?"

"Well, not really..." I struggled to think of something to say without telling him about Shade. "I...kinda saw Mayasa with some other chick, and I...well, I was so surprised and hurt I passed out. Although I think all the tests are a bit much." I added quickly.

Kish's eyes narrowed immediately. "He cheated on you?" He glowered. "So he has the sweetest girl on earth was a girlfriend and he doesn't think she's worthy. What a stupid idiot!"

I actually smiled at that. "Thanks Kish." Then my nurse came in.

"Excuse me, are you a friend of Ichigo's?"

"Yes." Kish replied.

"Would you mind visiting later? She's scheduled to undergo a few tests at the moment."

"I see." Kish shrugged, and stood up. He started walk away before pausing, and smacking himself in the forhead.

"Whoops, almost forgot!" He had this cute goofy look on his face. _Wait. Did I just call him cute? No! Baka Ichigo! _"These are for you." He handed me a box of chocolates. "Hope you like 'em!" Kish winked at me before leaving the room.

I gawked at his reatreating form. _I can't believe this. Is the world ending?_

_Is it raining cats and dogs? _Shade suggested.

_No._

_Is there a giant pit outside waiting to swallow all of humanity?_

_No. _

_Are you poised to fail a test again?_

_No._

_I'm out of ideas._

_Kish is back. He HASN'T stalked me, HASN'T stolen kisses from me, HASN'T tried to take me away somewhere, and he BOUGHT ME CHOCOLATES!_

Shade nodded. _I know. This is weird. Maybe he decided to change flirting tactics._

I looked at the chocolates again. Then, I opened the container and ate one. _In that case, he's changed them for the better. _

**/Kish's P.O.V.**

I walked outside, a feeling of confidence swelling up in my chest. _That stupid treehugger. I hope kitten likes those chocolates. _I remembered the instructions Pai had given me earlier today...

_Flashback_

"_Going to see the hag already?" Tart grumbled._

"_Hey!" I snapped. "Stop calling my kitten hag! You don't see me calling your girlfriend monkey girl!"_

"_SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"_

"_Denial attack." I smirked._

"_Just be careful Kish." Pai sighed. "If you come at her the same way you did last time, she'll get scared and shut you out and you'll be back at square one."_

_I frowned. "Then what SHOULD I do?"_

"_Take a more subtle approach." The purple-haired alien instructed. "Visit her at different times had have civilized conversations. Leave her little notes full of romantic drivel-the kind of things human girls find attractive for some strange reason. Get her flowers or chocolates, and don't stalk her. Offer to take her to the movies. Things like that."_

_Both me and Tart stared at him. "Since when did you know anything about flirting?"_

"_Advice columns." Pai stated. "Try reading one of the human's newspapers."_

_End Flashback_

So I decided to try taking his advice. Who knows; it might even work! "I'll win your heart yet, koneko-chan!"

**/No P.O.V.**

In an alley, a group of men were frantically running down an alleyway, gasping. There were quick footsteps behind them as a shadowed figure dashed after them.

They kept running and running, but eventually they hit a wall. Their nerves wracked, they slowly turned around to face their pursuer.

A female demon stood behind them, holding a broadsword in each hand. Her eyes were a bright violet color, and she was wearing a black vest, a black shirt, and faded blue jeans and purple combat boots. She approached slowly, fangs bared, intent on making a kill...or two or three.

"W-What do you want with us!" The cried in unison. The very presence of this being sent chills of fear down their spines.

"Did you trashes really think I'd let you off scoot-free after you made my hikari suffer?" The demon growled.

"Her father was ready to sell us out!"

"That means nothing to me. You will all die here." The demon snarled coldly.

One of the men raised a gun in one shaking hand and pointed it at her. The demon merely snorted in amusement.

"Do you really think a human-made weapon can hurt me?" She swung her arms open. "Fire all you want!"

The man did fire. Encouraged, the other men got out guns and fired a volley of shots as well. But when the dust cleared, the demon was standing in the same place, completely unharmed. Even her clothes remained pristine and undamaged.

She smirked and raised her swords. "My turn." She ran forward, and swung her blades, killing two of the ten men. Blood splattered the floor and the walls of the alley. Now frantic, the other members of the gang got up and started firing again.

The demon laughed at their efforts, and swooped down, quickly stabbing one man. He hadn't even hit the ground before the girl sheathed one of her swords, grabbed an iron pole, and hit two men on the head, and they fell with a satisfying CRACK. A few slashes later, all were dead except one, who was running for the streets. With a praticed hand the demon girl threw her broadsword. It pierced him through the heart and he fell to the ground, dead.

Smirking, the demon walked over and retrieved her weapons. "Everything will be okay now, hikari." she put her weapons away and disappeared.

**/Still no P.O.V., different part of Tokyo**

the heavy-set school bully walked into the parking lot. "Ohhh Drew! I'm here for my money!" He shouted. No response.

Annoyed, the bully walked into the lot. To his surprise, the boy he knew as Drew was lying unconscious on the sidewalk. Sitting on the hood of his car was a boy who looked disturbingly like him: he had the same long blonde hair and midnight blue eyes. But when he saw the bully coming, he smiled. It wasn't a nice smile, it was more like a smile that a lumberjack would smile before taking a chainsaw to an annoying dead tree. Plus it revealed the boy's fangs.

"You're late." The demon growled. "I've been waiting for half and hour to exact revenge for hikari and Sasha."

"Who the hell are you?" The bully yelled. "I've got no beef with you!"

The boy made a show of rolling his eyes in disgust. "Wrong. You've stolen from my hikari, you've stepped on him and even hurt his friend when she tried to help him. The second you lay your filthy hands on him, you invoked my wrath."

The parking lot was suddenly very, very cold. For the first time in years, the bully actually felt scared. The boy drew a knife and jumped off the car.

The bully never had a chance. The demon got behind him, and stabbed him in the back seven times. He then released him and walked away, leaving the bully to bleed.

**/With Ichigo and Lettuce, Ichigo's P.O.V.**

"Lettuce!" I yelled, noticing my green-haired friend sitting in the playroom. I ran over immediately and sat down next to her.

"Ichigo? How are you feeling?" Lettuce asked.

"I'm fine. What about you? Did you get hurt?" I replied, anxiously checking her for injuries.

"N-no, I'm okay..." She looked around before adding "except for the fact I have a huge headache and my shadow is awake."

My eyes widened. "Y-Your shadow? You mean...you have a demon, like me?"

"_Well, this is a surprise." _Shade said inside my head. _"Hi Leviathan. How's it going?"_

"_Fine." _A new voice huffed. For some reason I got an image in my head of a girl who resembled Lettuce, but was wearing a green tank top and skintight black jeans. She also had two fairly large guns at her sides. _"And I've told you a thousand times just to call me Levi, Shade!"_

"What happened, Lettuce?" I looked at my friend carefully. "what was so drastic that Levi had to come out and protect you?"

"It wasn't really..." A tear rolled down her cheek. "R-Ryou said that he never loved me. He loved you, and that I-I might also be a mew, but I-I'd never be as good as you."

"THAT JERK!" I howled. "I swear, when I see him again his head is MINE."

"_I can find him and bash his skull in." _Shade injected helpfully.

"_That might be a little difficult, 'cuz he just got arrested for the crime of making child soldiers." _Levi pointed out.

Lettuce smiled weakly at me. "Thanks."

We both kinda sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then we saw a girl with medium-length black hair walking across the room holding a basket full of laundry. She accidentally tripped over something that a younger kid had left on the ground and fell over, and the clothes spilled everywhere.

Me and Lettuce got up and ran over, helping her pick the stuff up. The girl smiled shyly at us. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. What's your name?" I asked.

Her smile grew a little wider. "I'm Sasha."

**End Chapter**

**Author's Note: That's right folks! The aliens are here! And I promise the next chapter will be darker and more dramatic...I just wanted to introduce Sasha and Drew. They have a part in this story too; but not so much that it overwhelms Ichigo, Lettuce, and Pudding. **

**Next chapter: Ron Yuebin shows up, and we meet Pudding's demon! And Ryou's trail is beginning! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Inner Demons**

**Me: I am back! Now for another dark, dramatic chapter of Inner Demons!**

**Shade: Yes! I've been waiting for this.**

**Levi: Who is this Ron Yuebin pest?**

**Gaia: A freak of nature, that's who! A freak of nature who is about so suffer a slow and painful death!**

**Me: Ahh, there you are Gaia. Would you kindly do the disclaimer?**

**Gaia: Alright...BladeofMoonlight does not own TMM or MMP, but she does own the demons and their concept, so don't steal them, or so help me I will-**

**Me: Whoa whoa! Start the chapter start it qui-(_we are currently experiencing technical difficulties)_**

**Chapter 4: Pudding's Demon and Nickolas Stryder**

**/Pudding's P.O.V.**

I skipped home, humming merrily to myself in an attempt to get into a good mood. My mind was going a mile a minute. _First Ichigo-onee-chan, and now Lettuce-onee-chan? What if I'm next? _The air around me felt almost oppressive as I made my way back home.

When I pushed the door open, I was suddenly hit by a wave of fear. My stomach twisted, and a bead of sweat slid down the back of my neck. I stepped fully inside and I felt like someone was running their finger down my spine.

"Ack na no da!" I spun around. It was empty. I swallowed nervously. _What's going on...? Everything's so scary all of a sudden..._

I walked through the house, wondering where my brothers and sisters were. Surely they were home by now? They were always there to greet me. Always.

Suddenly, a frightened cry shattered the silence, sounding from downstairs. My eyes widened. "Heicha-chan!" I abandoned my own fear and ran down the staircase and into the basement. My brothers and sister were all tied up, and whoever had done this was gagging Heichia-chan.

"Who are you!" I yelled, instinctively going for my mew pendant. I was seeing red, pure red. My siblings were the sweetest things in the world. No one deserved to do this to them! "Let my siblings go na no da!"

"I will let them go...if you take back your rejection to my proposal." The figure said, turning around. Although I still couldn't see him in the dark, I remembered that voice.

"Ron Yuebin na no da?" I asked in confusion. My memory nagged me, and took me back to a few weeks ago. Ron had appeared at the house, asking for my hand in marriage, several times. But when ever I saw him, I could only think of Taru-Taru. After he left, he was almost always on my mind. After some vigorous soul-searching and spending nights awake thinking, I had realized that I liked Taru-Taru more than just a friend. I couldn't marry Ron, I couldn't! I refused him, and he grew angry and pushed me. Luckily, Ichigo-nee-chan and Zakuro-nee-chan had decided to visit me, and came just in time to chase him off.

Now, however, he had my siblings, and I was on my own.

"Why are you doing this na no da?" I cried. "This has nothing to do with them!"

"It has everything to do with you." Ron snapped. "If I have leverage, there will be no way for you to refuse."

"What do you mean!" I yelled, scared. Ron drew a knife and held it over Heicha-chan's neck. My sister whimpered in fear.

"Consent, or I swear I will kill her!" The man snarled.

"NO! Heicha-chan!" I tried running towards her, but he pushed me away. My brothers started twisting in their seats, trying to loosen the ropes that bound them.

"Accept it!" Ron snarled.

"NEVER!" I screamed. "I will NEVER, EVER, EVER marry someone who hurts my siblings! I WILL NOT MARRY YOU!"

Ron's eyes darkened, and he stabbed Heicha. My sister whimpered and fell to the floor, her blood spilling onto the floorboards. My vision went red. "**HEICHA-CHAN!**"

I threw myself at Ron, kicking and screaming with such power that he stepped back, shocked. I knelt next to my precious sister, ripping off part of my sleeve and frantically binding the wound.

"Heicha-chan, hold on na no da." I sobbed quietly.

"Yes onee-chan." Heicha said, her voice weak but brave. I wrapped the wound tightly and put pressure. Heicha squeaked in pain but didn't struggle. Her pain cut deep into my heart, I hated seeing her hurt. For someone to simply taunt her or hurt her feelings was one thing, but to actually stab her...

I looked down at my little sister, filling with a rage like none other. My body shook, trying to contain the gales of unending fury that were whipping through me. "How...dare...you..." I snarled softly. The air around me became icy, and I blinked twice. A girl who looked like me, but had fangs, gold eyes, and was holding chains in her hands, stood before me. I could see my own absolute fury reflected in her gaze.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Was the only thing I heard before I hit the floor, my silbing's concerned cries echoing in the darkness.

**/No P.O.V.**

Ron Yuebin was faced with the demon, who was seething with rage. There were chains around her wrists, and they were on fire. The girl waved her hand, and Pudding's siblings, who had managed to free themselves, all fell unconscious.

"You are going to die, Yuebin." The demons snarled. "You are going to die a slow, painful, agonizing death! I will not tolerate this assault on my hikari and her family!" She made a sharp gesture with her arm, and the fiery chain whipped out, sliding across the floor like a snake.

"W-Who are you?" Ron yelled, holding up his knife and shaking. The sight of this girl sent thrills of fear down his spine. Her eyes, although they were a beautiful golden color, were burning like the furnaces of hell.

"I'm her demon, Gaia!" Gaia raised her arms. As if gaining minds of their own, the burning chains jumped off the floor and hurtled towards Ron. One punched him in the face, knocking him backwards 270 degrees. The second one wrapped around his ankle, and flung him against the wall.

Ron started to stand again, his flesh screaming where the molten links had touched his skin. Gaia made another furious gesture, and the chains started moving again. They wrapped around his arms, making him punch himself and twist like a pretzel, straining his muscles.

Upon hearing his scream of pain, Gaia made the chains release him. Ron fought to stand up, and tried to charge. The demon threw both her hands in the air, and the chains moved again. This time, they wrapped around his stomach. Setting herself in front of Pudding's family, Gaia began to fling Ron around like a wreaking ball, throwing him against every wall and floor.

"S...stop!" Ron cried.

"MAKE ME!" Gaia shouted, eyes still gleaming with wrath. Her chains adjusted their position, this time around his shoulders. The demon dragged the man up the stairs, and all the way onto the roof of the house, several stories up.

Gaia smirked to herself, laughing silently at the wonderful thought of what she was going to do. "I wonder what will happen..." She whispered. "Will you break all your bones when you hit the ground, or slowly die of your burns?"

"W-what? No! Spare me!" Ron stutters.

To his surprise, Gaia started laughing manically. It didn't sound like a child's laugh. It sounded like Dracula's laugh when he had cornered his prey and moved in for the kill. "It's too late." Gaia begain the swing him around her head, faster and faster. "Enjoy the slow ride to hell!" With all the power in her small body, Gaia flung Ron Yuebin into the distance, and watched as he hit the ground, and skipped several times before grinding to a halt.

A frightened bystander called the police. But by the time they got there, Gaia had vanished without a trace.

**/Ichigo's P.O.V.**

"Is that right?" I exclaimed. Sasha just smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Wow, I never would have come up with the nerve to talk to a bully like that. So what happened next?"

"He hit me." Sasha replied, sighing. "Really hard. But lucky for me, Drew had gotten a teacher and he got into lots of trouble." She looked down, a troubled expression on her face. "I hope he's okay though; that bully never gave up easily."

"How about you try calling him?" Lettuce suggested.

"I tried." Sasha admitted. "But he hasn't been answering his cell phone. I hope nothing bad has happened..."

"I'm sure he's fine." I said confidently. "I mean, the guy's gotten into deep trouble. Maybe he's finally taken the hint and decided to leave you and Drew alone."

"Ichigo? There's something I've always meant to ask you and Lettuce." Sasha said, as if suddenly remembering something. She looked around, making sure there was no one near my room before contiuing. "Are you really the Mew Ichigo and Mew Lettuce from the news?"

I jumped. "That was on air?"

Sasha nodded vigerously. "There's this guy Ryou Shirogane who spliced five girls against their will and forced them to fight aliens. That's where Tokyo Mew Mew came from."

Me and Lettuce exchanged a look, and I felt a slight tick over my eye. "_Shade..."_

"_Come on hikari." _My demon said lightly. "_He's getting what he deserves!"_

"_And the whole of Tokyo knows I'm half-cat, and now everyone will stare at me as if I have devil's horns growing out of my head." _I added dryly. _"Couldn't you find some way to pay him back that didn't involve making me international news?"_

I could almost see Shade's mind blowing a fuse. _"Ahh...I hadn't really thought that through..."_

I groaned. _"Well, what's done is done, and I'm going to have to live with it now. Oh great, my life is going to suck."_

"_Well, don't put it like THAT." _

"Yeah, that's us." Lettuce said. Deciding to humer my new friend, I jumped up on my cot.

"For the future of our planet, I will be of serice NYA~!" I called, going into my signature pose. There was a two-second pause before all three of us started laughing.

Suddenly, the alarm was going off, and quick footsteps sounded through the hall. "Hey, we've got new customers." Sasha indicated.

A bunch of nurses rushed past us with two cots, and I gasped in horror. "Oh gosh! It's Heicha! And Pudding!"

Me and Lettuce jumped up and ran after them, with Sasha not to far behind. When we were allowed inside, the nurses were tending to a knife-inflicted scar on Heicha's arm, and Pudding was out cold.

"Pudding!" I checked her pulse. Her skin was freezing!

"_It's okay hikari." _Shade stated. _"Gaia's been awakened."_

"_Gaia?"_

"_Pudding's shadow."_

Lettuce gave me a frightened look. Leviathan must have told her the same thing. Sasha also checked Pudding's tempature. For a second, she looked confused, then her eyes flashed with realization. _Does she know about demons too? _I was about to ask her a question when the doors opened again.

"Forgive my intrusion. I'm looking for Ichigo Momomia and Lettuce Midorikawa." I turned around and almost fainted. A man in semi-formal dress was standing in the doorway, and you'd have to be blind, mentally challenged, or an idiot to not realize who he was.

"A-Are you_ Nickolas Stryder?"_

**End Chapter**

**Yes! Pudding's demon is here! And as for my Nickolas Styder character? He's a key piece to the plotline, which I can't explain at this point without posting spoilers! I hope I've got the drama and horror back to a good high level again, since the last chapter had a sweeter edge to it. **

**In the next chapter, it's mostly from Ryou and Keiichiro's P.O.V. as they face their upcoming trail. And Zakuro comes to visit them.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Inner Demons**

**Ichigo: You're evil...**

**Moon: Tell me something I don't know.**

**Shade: Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP...for obvious reasons...(eye roll)**

**Chapter 5: The Trial, Part 1**

**/Ryou's P.O.V.**

I hate myself right now.

I had been naïve, caught up in my own cleverness. Had myself and Keiichiro really thought we were above the law? Had we thought we could really do this, without any form of consequence threatening to fall on our actions?

I told the girls not to tell anyone that they were the heroines that protected the planet. Surely the safety of the planet was more important than the safety of five girls. Besides, I trained them to fight.

We were doing the right thing-protecting Earth from invaders. Right? We would pick out five girls, splice them, and they would fight off the aliens.

Maybe if I had thought it over, realized what I was doing, I wouldn't be in this situation. I wouldn't be sitting in the witness stand trying to justify my actions to the angry prosecution.

I know it's a hopeless battle. I can feel the angry stares of Ichigo's parents from where they sit in the stands a ways away. The Crown Lawyer is in the middle of an angry rant on how much danger I had knowingly put the girls in. Even the military is annoyed with me, saying that they should be the first to know about alien invaders.

Keiichiro is currently being examined by the prosecution. I can tell by his pained expression that we're getting nowhere.

Neither of us were expecting it when the police men Alicia brought broke down the door and put us in handcuffs. I don't know how that detective girl found out about Project Mew Mew. Who put her on? One of the girls?

No. Surely they weren't THAT mad at me for getting them involved. They wouldn't have blabbed. Right?

Then again, they've been fighting Chimera Animals. They've been in danger on an almost constant daily basis. They had to fight aliens and stave off word destruction...all on my bidding. Maybe I misjudged how this would effect them...

or maybe...maybe it had something to do with that girl who appeared out of no where when Lettuce fained, after I told her the truth.

My hand immediately goes to my arm, which started throbbing at the thought of her. Her cold eyes, the way she was dressed, the gun she was holding. Who was she? Where did she come from?

"_You jackass! How dare you hurt my Hikari like this!"_

Hikari...hikari means light. Why would a stranger call Lettuce her Light? She hated me on sight...but why? Was SHE the one who ratted me out?

My head aches from all the questions running through my mind. Thinking about it doesn't help my situation right now.

"What's the verdict?" A voice yells, snapping me out of my moment of thought. The judge finished speaking to the jury and walked back to his seat, picking up his gravel.

"Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka, you have been found guilty of child abuse, unauthorized use of unapproved genetic morphing, and forming child soldiers. You are now sentenced to 20 years in jail!"

The crack of the gravel came down like a gunshot, ringing in my ears. I barely noticed when I was grabbed by the security guards and dragged back towards my cell. I could feel my life shattering into a thousand pieces, never to be fully re-foraged.

**/At Cafe Mew Mew, No P.O.V.**

It had gotten dark, since it was long past 10 pm. Most people had been avoiding the pink cafe since the scandal had broken out. The only people who were there were a pair of policemen, loading all the infusers and computer data related to Project Mew Mew into a small truck. They were so absorbed in their work that they didn't notice the two bat-winged people walking up behind them.

Two swift blows to the head, and the policeman and his partner were out like lights. The first demon chuckled.

"That was easy. You'd think, with the scale of the stuff they're transporting, they'd have at least a few more guards around here to keep watch."

"Remind me why we're going through this again?" The second demon puffed. He sounded much younger than the first, and he was running an impatient hand through his blonde hair.

"Damien, learn some patience." The older demon chided. "We need to split humanity down the middle. You know they always feared what they didn't understand."

"Yes...?" Damien asked, tapping his foot.

"Don't you get it? If we spread this stuff all over the globe, some people will pick up the red data genetics. They will gain animal wings, ears, and traits. They will become amazing, while others shall remain the same."

Damien looked questioning for a second, but then his expression cleared. "I get it...! With an unwanted third race on the loose, the humans will get ansy. And that will spark some discontent, which always leads to...!"

"Chaos!" The two demons chorused in unison, eyes gleaming hungrily at the thought. They both turned to the truck and closed the trunk doors. They then got into the driver and navigator seats and drove off into the night.

**End Chapter**

**Upward and onward, towards a better plotpoint! I'm sorry it's so late and short. It's mainly filler, because I was struggling to continue with the plot. But I got a new idea, and now I know where I want to go with this story. I hope you enjoyed this and stuck around to see it! I promise to update soon! **

**And please leave a review on the way out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Inner Demons**

**Ichigo: She's crazy I tell you! Crazy!**

**Moon: Stuff it.**

**Gaia: Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP.**

**Chapter 6: The Mew Virus**

***Rural park, LA* **

A young girl was sitting on a bench outside on a cliffside, enjoying the view. She was blonde, and fairly attractive. The sun was just setting, and it was getting late. However, the girl and her best friend wanted to stay just a little longer to enjoy the scenery.

"hey! Look at that!" One of the girls exclaimed. The blonde followed her gaze. Waves of multi-colored lights were spilling across the sky in a dazzling light show.

"Wow. Don't see that every day." The blonde commented. She was starting to feel a little strange... "C'mon. Mom's going to be wondering what's taking us so long."

However, several men walked out of the greenery, whistling. The two girls tensed immediately.

"Hey. Aren't they pretty?" One of them said.

"Let's bring 'em back to boss."

"That would be too bad. Let's test 'em out first."

"Please, don't come any closer..." The first girl pleaded, walking backwards.

"Elevian! Look out!" Her friend screamed. It was too late. The blonde took one bad step, fell over backwards, off the cliff.

Her friend screamed, fearing the worst...but then something strange happened.

Elevian appeared again..._flying. _That's right. She had a pair of **eagles wings **sprouting from her back. And hovering around them were several triangle-shaped blades, each of which were glowing. "Amy!" She called. "This is amazing!"

Amy's mouth dropped open. Not only had her friend just sprouted wings, but she herself started changing. She saw the blurry image of a mountain lion for a split second, before she looked down at herself again. Her fingers had _claws _coming out of them.

"OH MY GOD! THEY'RE FREAKS!" One of the guys screamed. They all turned tail and ran.

Elevian landed, and both girls looked at each other with a mixture of awe and fear. "What are out parents going to think? " Amy whimpered.

***Public School, USA***

Shadow ran his fingers through his raven hair. The Arts had never been his strong spot, but he had been forced to try out for the school musical anyway. _Ugh. _He thought, waiting in dread for his turn. If there was one thing he hated, it was acting in front of the school. He had a bad experience.

"Shadow!" His teacher shouted. "Your turn!"

Groaning, the boy stood up and walked onto the stage, shielding his midnight blue eyes from the strobe lights. There was a long pause, but he didn't do anything.

Loud snickering broke out through the room. Shadow winced. Were they really going to hold that over his head? He had only been seven!

He just wanted to disappear into the floor. The light stung at him, and made him feel like his hands were burning. Wincing, he pulled out of the light and into the shadows of the stage. The laughter grew louder.

Shadow suddenly felt a bolt of anger. He hated being laughed at. He saw what looked like a bat hover in his vision for a few seconds, before vanishing again. There was an odd sensation at his lips. Frowning, he ran his tongue along his teeth. Something was out of the ordinary...

"Shadow! Is something the matter?" His teacher shouted.

"Y-Yeah..." Shadow called. "I feel a little strange..."

The rest of the boy's laughter grew even louder, but by then Shadow had decided to ignore them. His entire body was feeling rather odd, as if something was different. His teacher walked up onstage, and suddenly screamed at the sight of him.

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, generally confused.

Trembling, the teacher handed him a mirror. Shadow stared, uncomprehending, at his reflection. He had fangs, ivory-pale skin, a completely _black _outfit, and _bat wings_. "What happened to me?" He whispered.

Backing away, the teacher turned and ran, accidentally turning on the lights. Shadow flinched in pain, and collective screaming sounded from the auditorium. Kids ran from the room, and one of the teachers got on the phone to 911.

"Come!" Shadow turned around, still trying to shield himself from the light, to see a blonde boy waving from the other end of the hall. "Hurry!" He added urgently. "You'll want to be long gone by the time the police get here!"

Wanting to get out of the light and someplace safe, Shadow did follow him. "Why do I look like this?" He demanded as they ran.

"You've become a Mew." The other boy panted. "I have too."

"Whaaaaat? But the guy who engineered that process is in jail in Tokyo!"

"I know, it was all over the news. But someone stole the transformation serum and spread it through the air like a poison." His rescuer replied. "You're a vampire bat. That's why it hurts to go out in the sunlight. I know, because I'm a coyote. Damien told me."

"Who's Damien?" Shadow asked.

"Long story." The boy replied shortly. "I'm Drew, by the way."

"How many other people could possibly become mews?" Shadow asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

The answer was far from pleasant. "Possibly? Millions."

***Other places around the world***

Drew was, unfortunately, quite right. The Mew transformation serum spread through the world with incredible speed. Half of all students in high schools worldwide got the ability to transform. Even some grade schoolers in grade five and below were spliced.

It was a phenominon. It was all over newspapers, TV, the internet and every sort of media imaginable. The kids with powers didn't know what to do with it. And the people without powers were terrified of what they _would _do with it. 911 was called hundreds of times over the space of a few hours.

People were debating what to do. No one was sure of what was going to happen.

***With Ichigo, Lettuce, Puddinig and Sasha, a few days after the outbreak***

"In recent news, there has been yet another anti-mew riot reported after a group of teenagers with hyena DNA broke into a jewelry store. The police are currently searching for the thieves but are making little progress-" Nikolas turned off the TV and turned to the kids.

"This is what I was worried about." He said, his tone deep and rich like brass. He had given the mew girls quite a start when he had visited them at Pudding's hospital bed. After informing them that paparazzi had suddenly become interesting in their story, he had offered to get them out of the spotlight for a little. Ichigo and the others had no desire to be pestered by those goons, so they thanked him and took the opportunity.

So they had gotten an exclusive trip to Nikolas's mansion. The man came from a very old and rich family, which meant that he could afford a resort in the mountains. The girls had been greatly enjoying themselves until Pudding decided to turn on the news.

Lettuce sat down hard, Sasha right next to her. "I can't believe it." The green-haired mew murmured. "How did this happen?"

"I believe the Mew Serum was stolen." Nikolas replied. "I thought nothing good could come of it when I heard about you and the other mews over the TV. Someone was bound to get a sneaky idea."

"But what does this mean for kids who get spliced?" Sasha asked worriedly, flicking her white wolf ears. She had also become a mew. "'Cause if this is like the X-Men movies, we're all doomed, very, very doomed."

At that, Ichigo managed to chuckle, but it was forced. The idea Sasha was putting out there was alarming. She had also watched X-Men, and the way mutants were treated by the rest of society sent shivers down her spine. And with daemons to worry about as well, the last thing she needed right now was a real-life Magneto.

"I'm working on that right now," Nikolas replied grimly. "I have a feeling we'll need to build some kind of shelter. Some parents won't take too kindly to finding out their child is half animal now."

"What do you plan to do na no da?" Pudding asked, looking up at Nikolas with big, scared eyes.

"I plan to create a place mutants can go without being hassled." The older man replied. "Like a school."

"A school? For Mews?" Sasha clarified.

"It's a big idea," Nikolas said thoughtfully, "and I may need help pulling it off. However, I think it's possible." He swiftly walked out of the room, looking for the phone.

Ichigo, Lettuce, Pudding and Sasha all scooted closer together. "This is bad." Ichigo whimpered. "I thought my life was screwed up when I first became a mew mew. But this is going to be much worse than that."

"But didn't the police _confiscate _the Mew Serum?" Lettuce asked, pushing her glasses off the tip of her nose and back towards her eyes. "How did it get out like this?"

"_**I think I know," **_Gaia spoke up for the first time in three days, scaring all four of them. _**"The truck was hijacked by another demon."**_

"_**Gaia!"**_ Pudding cried through the yami-hikari link. _**"You scared me na no da!"**_

"_**You sure?" **_Sasha's shadow, Midnight, growled.

"_**Positive." **_Gaia replied. **_"Sorry hikari, but you needed to know this."_**

"_**Why do you suspect another daemon?" **_Ichigo asked.

"_**Not all daemons are protective shadows, hikari." **_It was Shade who replied first. **_"Some of them are mischief-makers, others like to torment one specific person. But there are some who feed on the misery of many people at once...and enjoy chaos. I'm willing to bet one of them caused this."_**

"_**You wouldn't happen to know where we would find an exorcist, do you?" **_Sasha asked.

"_**Not really." **_Midnight answered. Leviathan piped up then, saying **_"We may end up having to fight them off ourselves."_**

"_**Yeah, that's exactly how I wanted to spend the year." **_Ichigo thought dryly. **_"Go on some dangerous, ludicrous hunt for a very dangerous daemon that is trying to cause a war. Just dandy."_**

**/With Zakuro**

Not all that far away, in her apartment, Zakuro was also shutting off the TV and thinking to herself. _How did this happen? _She wondered. She had known something was going wrong when there seemed to be twice as many paparazzi as usual chasing her around. Needless to say, she had been mildly surprised to find out that Ryou and Keiichiro had been charged and convicted of molding child soldiers.

_I wonder who tipped them off, _Zakuro thought to herself. The thing she was more concerned about, however, was the sudden appearance of many, many new mews. She didn't know how the Mew Serum got spilled, because it obviously had, but the rest of humanity wasn't thrilled to pieces with suddenly having to share ground with the "Red Data people."

Zakuro wasn't in a huge amount of danger, even though she was a mew. After all, she was a very famous and rich model, and she had bodyguards who would protect her in case she was attacked. Mint was also in no immediate danger, since her family was rich and could afford extra protection for their daughter.

The cold wolf mew was much more concerned about her poorer teammates, Ichigo, Lettuce and Pudding, who had all gone to the hospital due to a strange fainting spell. Zakuro didn't want to hear that they had been hurt in any way, and they were more vunerable because they were normal kids. They were exposed to the brunt of humanity and were more likely to get hurt.

Zakuro had just made up her mind to call Mint and the others separately, so see if they were all right, when yelling from outside caught her attention. Walking outside and pulling the door open, she saw two boys bolting down the street, running away from what looked like a stamped of people.

***With Drew and Shadow***

"I know people didn't like mews that much, but this is ridiculous!" Shadow yelled at Drew, as they struggled to outrun the crowd.

"How are we going to get away?" Drew cried.

"I was hoping you'd know!" The raven-haired boy shouted back. They skidded to a halt near a corner, looking around wildly.

"Down the alley," A new voice hissed, from behind them. "hurry!"

Spinning on their heels, Shadow and Drew saw the Wolf Mew standing in the alley, sharply pointing for them to follow. The two boys took one look at the crowd and ran in after her.

The complex of alleys was clearly confusing and difficult for many people to get through, so after a little chase the horde of anti-mews gave up, and left, grumbling.

Shadow, now that he was out of the sunlight, pulled his hood off and turned towards Zakuro. Both boys blushed awkwardly at her attire.

Zakuro smiled wanly, as if guessing their train of thought, and de-transformed. "I know. I'm not thrilled to pieces with that outfit either."

"Thanks for helping us." Drew said. "I thought we'd never lose them."

"I heard about the whole Mew thing over the TV." Zakuro informed them. "I suppose it won't be long before people start thinking that all mews are dangerous."

"Why are they getting so touchy about it?" Shadow demanded. "Sure, a couple of stupid idiots used their hyena DNA to break into a jewelry store, but that doesn't mean-"

"Somehow I don't think they're going to see it that way." Drew grumbled. "And we're going to have to live with it."

Shadow turned back towards Zakuro. The word beautiful came to mind, but he quickly banished it. "Will you be okay?" He asked cautiously. "You're a mew, too. One of the original five..."

"That's true." Zakuro answered, her facial expression suggesting that she had already thought about that and didn't need a reminder. "Honestly...I don't know what made me want to help you two out in the first place, but I have a good feeling about you...somehow, I felt I had to. Do you need a roof over your heads?"

Shadow and Drew exchanged a stunned look. They had just been offered shelter. By a supermodel. "Sure, thanks!" They said at the same time, sounding like it was one person.

***later***

Drew was sitting up on his cot on the floor. Both Zakuro and Shadow had fallen asleep. He took a deep breath. Zakuro had said something about feeling a strange need to help _them_, in particular. Maybe it was fate. And he had never really believed in "his heart speaking to him" until recsently. That was before this mess started. Now he was speaking from his heart almost all the time, because half the time a certain someone would try to bend his thoughts.

"_**That's not a very nice way to put it," **_that same dreaded male voice drifted through his mind.

"_**Damien." **_Drew thought hotly. **_"Can't you see what you've started! This is unbelieveable overkill! You've upset the balance of this planet enough already!"_**

As soon as he thought that, he was yanked back to the dark beach. Disoriented for a second, he stumbled around. There was a hiss of annoyance before someone grabbed his arm and yanked him upright. Drew found himself gazing into the hot midnight blue eyes of his shadow.

"_**You're such a whiner." **_Damien growled. _**"Can't you stand a little excitement?"**_

"_**Excitement I can stand." **_Drew replied. _**"All the insane crap you've started? That's on an entirely different level."**_

Damien merely snorted. _**"You just don't get it. And don't talk to me about balance. The humans have **__**been having it easy for far, far too long. They've grown ungrateful and flippant about their gifts and no longer show any respect to the spirits that live here too. They need a humility lesson."**_

"_**Humility lesson? This could lead to mass murder for all you know!" **_Drew looked searchingly at Damien, who's searing gaze was burning into his soul. _**"I thought you were a protective daemon!"**_

"_**I am." **_The blonde daemon replied shortly.

"_**Then why!" **_Drew cried in frustration. **_"You didn't act like this before Sasha released Midnight_**-"

Damien's eyes filled with fury, causing Drew to break of mid-sentence. Realizing his mistake a little too late, he took a step backwards from his angered shadow.

"_**Don't mention those names ever again!" **_Damien spat. He abruptly threw Drew's conciousness back into the waking world. He glanced back over at his two companions. Neither stirred. He let out his breath and lay down, trying to get some sleep.

_What happened between Midnight and Damien anyway? _He wondered.

**End Chapter**

**And so spreads the Mew Serum! How will our heroes manage? And what DID happen between Damien and Midnight? If you keep reading, you'll find out!**

**Reviews containing ideas and constructive criticism welcomed!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Inner Daemons**

**Ichigo: Seriously! Can't I get a break from all this crap?**

**Me: Let me think...no.**

**Zakuro: (sigh) Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP.**

**Chapter 7: Kidnapped**

***With Elevian and Amy***

Elevian groaned. Her head was throbbing painfully, and she reached one hand up and rubbed it. Or at least, she intended to. But her arm was strapped down. She felt a frown cross her face, and she tried to sit up. No such luck, her legs and stomach area had been strapped down as well. The strange feeling on her back hadn't gone away, and with a jolt she realized she hadn't dispelled her mew form, meaning her eagle wings were still out. The room she was in was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything, even with hawk's vision.

"Amy?" She called hesitantly, fearing she would attract the wrong person's attention.

There was a small scuffling noise, before a soft, strained voice answered back. "Elevian? They got you too?"

"Y-Yeah. Who's they?" Elevian asked, her body stiff. She sniffed the air. Her enhanced senses told her that Amy was bleeding. "You're hurt! What happened?"

"They beat me." Amy replied weakly. "They thought I knew where other mews were. It was all after they knocked you out...I guess they thought the wing-blades you have would have caused a lot of damage...I told them I didn't know. And they started punching me. They didn't stop until I had passed out. It hurt so much..."

"That's horrible!" Elevian cried, forgetting all about being quiet. "How could they get away with it?"

The lights flickered on, and she winced at the sudden change. When her vision came into focus again, she realized that they were in a big white room. It looked alarmingly like a science lab, with all the horrible tools lying around on nearby tables. There were two lamps hanging overhead by chains, and the fierce light glared down at the two girls.

Twisting her head slightly, Elevian could see her friend. Amy was strapped down in a similar manner that she was. Blood trickled from between her lips. There were various scars on her body, and tears streaked down her tanned cheeks. Her hands were trapped in huge metal see-through clamps.

Elevian got an increasing feeling of horror rising in her. The men in suits who had been waiting for her when she and Amy had returned to her mother's house had every intention of keeping them there. Who knows what they would do to them...a dry sob rose in her throat as she recalled some horror stories she had watched on TV, where innocent teen girls had vanished into thin air, their dead bodies showing up later in alleys...

"They're awake." The eagle mew snapped her head up and towards the huge glass window between her, Amy and a few scientists. A man in a black suit nodded briskly before signaling for the men to step backwards.

"Good morning." He said, leaning on a silver bar while staring down at the two mew girls. There was a hard look in his eyes, as if he was viewing something unpleasant.

"Who are you?" Elevian tried to keep her voice steady, but failed. The way they were looking at her made her feel ditry, or somehow impure. It wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, and she partially wished she could sink into the floor. "Where have you taken us?"

"You are in the custody of the Secret Service." The man stated in a dismissive manner. "That is all you need to know."

"Why did you kidnap us?" Elevian's tone was rising a bit as she started feeling more and more bold. She wanted an explanation, and she wanted one now. Amy gave her a frantic "don't do that" look, but the blonde ignored it.

"Kidnap is not the word I would like to use." The first man answered. "You have been 'summoned,' let's say. We needed research volunteers."

"Research us? What do you-" Elevian started to say something, but the man spoke over her, drowning her out with his decisive voice.

"I do not appreciate being interrupted, miss Elevian. Right now, you are being contained and being prepared for experimentation-"

If Elevian could have sat bolt upright, she would have. The meaning of the statement sunk in quickly. "_**Experimentation**_**? **_**WHAT? **_Not only is that inhumane-it's ILLIGAL! We're just a pair of normal girls! You don't have the right to make us do something against our will!"

"Since when has 'normal' meant that children could randomly sprout eagles wings or bear claws? When was it normal for boys to suddenly be able to break into diamond stores and get away with it, for girls to melt into the darkness and re-appear somewhere else, or for anyone to have animal DNA inscribed in their original genetics?" The man countered. He sounded absolutely convinced, as if he had rehearsed the sentence in his mind.

"This wasn't our choice!" Elevian twisted in her handcuffs, feeling her wings flexing in aggravation. The wing-bits were beginning to spin quickly. She couldn't get up, the cuffs were on to tight.

"Your choice or not, I'm afraid all the mew children are going to have to be relocated to some place where they won't do any damage-"

"We're not dangerous!" Amy insisted pleadingly. The people standing over the seemed untouched by her tears.

"You now hold within you twice the destructive power of most grenades." The response was impassive and uncaring. "You and all other mews must be contained."

"You think you have the right, that you would _dare_ contain me like I am some kind of rabid animal?" Elevian screamed. "You can't!"

"_**They won't**_**." **A dark voice chuckled. The window behind Elevian and Amy exploded, sending glass fragments in every direction. The lights shattered, and the room around them grew dim. Someone cut Elevian loose and she leaped to her feet, wings flapping.

Feeling the reality of her situation crashing down on her, Elevian was suddenly possessed by a blind rage. Because of some stupid person from Tokyo, she was suddenly considered a freak. Because of some boys who had run off to tell the authorities about her she had been locked up, and Amy had gotten beaten. And because of these paranoid %^$&#, she was being held in lockup and denied all forms of freedom.

Due to the eagle blood that now flowed through her veins, that was beyond captivity. It was hell. No one was going to keep her contained! NO ONE!

The wing-bits moved. They hurtled towards the men involved, and soon the room was full of screaming and cries for mercy as blood spilled onto the ground. The two daemons looked rather impressed, and decided to see what the girl was capable of.

It wasn't until all the captives were dead that Elevian regained her self control. Rubbing her fingers against her forehead, she blinked twice and seemed to realize what had just happened. Amy was staring blankly at her claws, which had been bloodied by her attempt at self-defense.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...!" Amy was on the brink of hysteria by then, her now-amber eyes flaring wildly.

Elevian turned mechanically towards their rescuers. There were two of them, one and older man, the other a teenaged boy. The boy was blonde, and he had silver wings and blue eyes that gleamed with a certain level of admiration. The older man had raven hair, huge black wings, impassive onyx eyes, and a body suit of slim bronze armor.

The one thing they shared in common was their fangs. Unnatural fangs.

"Good work, Elevian." The man spoke first. His voice was really creepy...it sounded like someone on a piano playing the second-lowest note. "you were more powerful than I anticipated."

"How do you know my name?" Elevian demanded, determined not to be afraid. She was no longer tied down. If she needed to fight, she could.

"We learned it from those guys." The blonde jerked an uninterested finger towards the bodies of the men who had kidnapped the girls in the first place. "I overheard the conversation and decided to lend a hand."

"And you are...?" Amy looked warily at the two. "You look like something a horror novelist would dream up."

"Ah, my mistake." The man purred. "I am Nuteritor Mortis, although I prefer to be called Deathbringer. And this boy is my apprentice, Damien."

Damien chuckled. "Horror novelist? You're funny. We're daemons, ladies."

"Daemons?" Amy choked out. Elevian just stared at them.

"Why did you help us?" She asked. "I thought daemons were malicious spirits who spread chaos."

"To a point, yes." Deathbringer replied, as if that wasn't the least bit important. "However, I heard you two screaming and decided to lend a hand. Would you mind helping me and Damien with something? It's rather important."

"What is it?" Elevian started to ask, only to have Amy drag her backwards.

"What are you doing?" Her friend asked in a yell-whisper like voice. "They just admitted that they're **daemons! **And you're gonna help them?" 

"Amy, if they hadn't showed up, those _men _would probably be dissecting us right now." Elevian pointed out, glancing back towards the two hell creatures. "I don't think they want to kill us. And besides, if we don't go with them where will we go?"

Amy hesitated. "We could go-"

"Home?" Elevian suggested dryly. "Sure. Mom will be totally prepared to bring her freak daughter and her freak friend back into her home."

"How about-"

"The shelters? I don't think they accept mews either. They'll think we may accidentally kill someone." Elevian gently put her hands on her friend's shoulders and gazed imploringly at her. "Please, Amy. Understand. There's no one out there who's ready to take us in."

"Why would they hate us?" Amy whispered.

"They hate you because you intimidate them." Deathbringer chimed in, as if that explained everything. "Anything humans don't understand, they usually fear. As a daemon, I know this for a fact. Whether they will ever accept your kind...is doubtful, at the best."

"Elevian is right, you know." Damien said, leaning against the wall as if this whole conversation was boring him. "You don't have to defend them, Amy. They don't deserve it, especially after they beat you up when you did nothing to deserve it."

Amy looked around, and then back at her friend and the two daemons. She didn't know what else to do, so she caved. "A-alright, but what are we going to do?"

Deathbringer chucked, in the same creepy manner as before. "You will understand in time." Damien lifted Amy in his arms, and he, Deathbringer and Elevian took off into the night sky.

**%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&**

"Do you know how much farther it is?" Shadow asked, glancing in Zakuro's direction. He was hovering above her right now, carrying Drew. For whatever reason, the guy had passed out so when Zakuro told him that she had received a call from Ichigo, he had been forced to carry his new friend to their destination.

"It's over there." The raven-haired wolf mew answered, pointing towards the mountains. A gondola post was waiting for them near the foot, and someone was waving from inside. "And I think that's Lettuce."

Shadow nodded and flew a bit lower. He had recently discovered that he greatly enjoyed flying, and each night, whenever he got the chance, he would slip out whatever window was closest and fly around the sky, seeing just how high he could go.

It was probably just his vampire bat DNA acting up, but for once, Shadow didn't mind his strangeness. After all, what kid hasn't dreamed of flying?

Zakuro ran to a stop just in front of Lettuce, who had indeed been waiting with the gondola. The two girls exchanged a quick hug, and Lettuce filled Zakuro and Shadow in on Nikolas's plan.

"Build a safe haven for Mews?" Shadow repeated. "Sounds cool. Can he really pull it off?"

"That's what we're going for." Lettuce answered, before looking down at Drew. "Is your friend alright? He looks rather pale."

"He's unconscious." Shadow replied. "I'm not sure why, but other than that he's in tip-top shape." The three of them stepped into the gondola and it began to rise towards the mansion they had been staying at.

Lettuce looked a little nervous. "To tell the truth, the mews aren't our only worries." She admitted.

"They aren't?" Zakuro inquired, while Shadow just raised an eyebrow. "What else is going on? Lettuce? I've never seen you look so serious in ages."

The green-haired girl shot a look over her shoulder before glancing back at them. "I think the mew serum was stolen by daemons." She replied, in a rather straightforward manner.

Both Zakuro and Shadow gave her strange looks. "Daemons?" Zakuro shook her head. "That's ridiculous, Lettuce. Daemons are fantasy stories, not real life problems."

"Yeah." Shadow added. "Is that meant to be a joke?"

To their surprise, Lettuce still looked serious. "I wish it was. I now how crazy it sounds, and you probably won't believe me right away...but I have a way to prove it to you. Ichigo, Pudding and Sasha could help me explain."

Gently, she put a hand on Drew's forehead. A second later, she yanked it away, looking a bit frightened, as if she had recived a small electric shock.

Shadow just gave Zakuro a bewildered look. The wolf mew shook her head, as if to say she didn't understand it either.

"Him too?" Lettuce asked, pointing towards Drew.

"Pardon?" Shadow muttered.

"His yami. Has it been unleashed?"

"Would it help if I told you that you are making no sense whatsoever?" The raven-haired boy said, sounding more exasperated then he had intended to.

Lettuce looked down like a scolded puppy, as if she had said something wrong. "Nevermind. Ichigo will explain better than me." Before Zakuro or Shadow could ask more questions, the gondola pulled to a halt. Lettuce jumped off and motioned for them to follow. She then proceeded to lead them into the mansion.

**End Chapter**

**Yup, you saw a lot of the OCs in this chapter. That's because I want to develop them. I plan to put Shadow in a romance (although I have not entirely decided with which girl yet) and I don't want it to be one of those instances where all you know about the OC is their name. (if you're lucky) I hope I'm balancing my two running plotpoints of this story okay!**

**Please Review! It helps me get better!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Inner Daemons**

**Moon: Here we go! A new chapter!**

**Ichigo: What are you up to?**

**Moon: Nothing out of the ordinary.**

**Ichigo: Coming from you, that isn't comforting. Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP, but she does own a cat.**

**Moon: (pats Sammy) That I do. On with the story!**

**Chapter 8: Explanations**

***With Ichigo and the others***

Ichigo smiled when she saw Zakuro and her new friends appear in the house. She was greatly relieved that her friend had gotten out unharmed. Mint had arrived two days ago after a phone call with Lettuce. She had been a little upset from the news, but she was fine. Pudding's younger siblings had also been brought to the mansion for safety purposes, and the older girls took turns taking care of them while the others did chores and kept an eye on the news.

From what Lettuce had told her and the others, Drew had released his yami. It felt good to know she wasn't the only person with another voice in her head. Shade meant well, but having a voice that isn't your own speak up and random times was pretty creepy. Especially when you were trying to focus on something.

"_**You ready to try this?" **_Shade asked mentally.

"_**Yeah." **_Ichigo replied. **_"For some reason I feel like we're raising an army or something."_**

"_**That thought may not be entirely without merit." **_Shade said seriously. **_"If regular humans decide to take up arms against the mew people, we may need to protect ourselves."_**

"_**The daemons will get involved?" **_Ichigo asked, mildly surprised.

"_**Without a doubt. You are my Light and my charge." **_Shade answered simply. **_"It is my sole duty to protect and serve you. May I be damned to a place worse than hell itself if I fail you."_**

Ichigo smiled softly at those words. _**"Thank you Shade. I don't know what I would do without you."**_

She waved them over to the meeting room, and signaled for them to sit down. Drew, who was still out of it, lay on the couch. "Care to introduce yourself?" She asked, directing the question at the raven-haired boy. "Or should we go first?"

The boy ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I will. My name is Shadow. My DNA is spliced with that of the Vampire Bat, and it has been so for three days now. I met Zakuro in an alley when myself and Drew were trying to escape a mob. She helped us get away." He gestured to the blonde boy. "That's Drew. He has coyote DNA, and he helped me get out of sight when I first became a mew, which happened to be during school."

Ichigo winced. "I'm sorry to hear that. I am Mew Ichigo, or just Ichigo to my friends. You've probably heard it from the news, but to clarify I am one of the five original mews. I fought against Deep Blue and the invading aliens, and after they left I went back to a semi-normal life. However...er, due to a certain male who will remain nameless, I collapsed and got sent to the hospital. It was only after that did the Mew Virus take flight and I had to get out of there. I was joined by Lettuce, Pudding and Sasha. Mint brewing some tea right now, she should be here in a few minutes."

The younger girl nodded and smiled. Both Lettuce and Sasha nodded.

"One question." Zakuro said. "Lettuce, you mentioned daemons when you brought us up here. Ichigo?"

Ichigo grimaced. She had been hoping to avoid that explanation for a little longer, but it seemed to be unavoidable. Plus, she couldn't have gone on lying for too much longer.

"_**Shade?" **_She said.

_**"Coming right up." **_With those words, Ichigo collapsed and Shade materialized. Shadow jumped, and Zakuro's eyes widened in surprise. Sasha and the others looked unmoved, as if they had already gone over this.

"Oh." Shadow said meekly. He turned to the other girls. "Do you also...?" Wordlessly, he pointed towards Shade.

Lettuce nodded, and she, Sasha and Pudding also passed out. Leviathan, Midnight and Gaia all appeared.

Zakuro took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "Daemons are real. I can see that now. But why are you so worried about it?"

"_**We think another daemon is responsible for creating and spreading the Mew Virus." **_Ichigo answered non-verbally.

Shade giggled at the others' expressions. "Hikari, I think you should have warned them before you used telepathy."

"_**Oh yeah. Sorry guys, it takes some time to get used to."**_

Midnight's eyes narrowed at Drew, something flashing in her eyes. Gaia turned questioningly at her. "Midnight, what are you going on about now?"

"...Maybe." Midnight muttered, before turning towards Gaia. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about how much that boy resembles Damien."

At the name, all four shadows tensed up. "You sure?" Leviathan growled. "Can you sense him?"

"I'm not sure," Gaia said with a frown. "Something's blocking me..."

"_**What are you talking about?" **_Lettuce questioned. Shadow blinked.

"Did you say Damien?"

"Yes." Midnight said, turning towards the boy. "What, have you seen him?"

"No, I haven't seen him myself. In fact, I didn't know he was a daemon before you brought him up." Shadow answered. "It happened when Drew was helping me get away from the teachers in school, after they called the cops on me. He said something about new mews popping up everywhere, and when I asked how he knew, he said 'Damien told me.' But he didn't tell me who Damien was."

"He must be Drew's shadow." Midnight hissed, taking a step towards the comatose blonde.

"_**Midnight! What are you DOING?" **_The black-haired daemon winced at the anger in Sasha's voice. **_"That's my friend!"_**

"I'm sorry, Sasha." Midnight said, in a weak tone. With a jolt, Shadow realized that Midnight was looking a little...tired. As if energy was be drained from her...

_Sasha must have more control over her daemon then I expected, _he thought.

"Sasha, please try to understand." Shade said, looking between the other daemons and the conscious humans in the room. "Damien is very, very dangerous. He may seem to be a charming person, but he's powers of seduction and combat are second to no one's. The last time we saw him, he was a general in Lucifer's armies alongside Deathbringer and Serenade-" She broke off, as if she had said too much.

"_**Care to tell us more about that?" **_Lettuce asked mildly, but her tone sounded tight. Zakuro knew her friend well enough to know that she was angry. **_"And if you were sure Damien was involved, why are we only hearing about it now?"_**

Gaia spoke up first. "It happened a long time ago, during what I believe you humans called the Medieval age. In those days, due to the battle-heavy atmosphere it was commonplace for daemons to be able to move around and communicate with humans. Protective shadows such as ourselves were very rare in that era, as few people trusted with their lives, unconsciously or not. Mostly, we faded in and out of battles, fighting on different sides and not really caring what happened or who won as long as we were involved in the pillaging that happened afterwords. Aside from knowing that we had been cast out of heaven, it was in those days that humans came to think of us as chaotic beings who lived to do wrong. And to be fair, most of us do."

She paused for breath, and Leviathan took over. "I'm sure you've heard of Lucifer before. The chief fallen angel. In fact, humans have made a poem about him...Paradise Lost, I believe. It was surprisingly accurate too. Lucifer had waged war on heaven, and he and his supporters lost and were sent to that tropical place down below that isn't Australia."

Shadow snickered, and Shade raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't mind me," he managed. "Keep going."

"Anyway, during the times when war was common and chaos abounded, Lucifer decided to gather his supporters once again and try to take over the mortal realm." Shade continued. "He claimed that we deserved more than simply watching over the souls of condemned humans, and that we deserved the warmth of the sun, the touch of water, and above all, life. You see, daemons aren't alive, well, not really. We can manifest ourselves with spiritual energy, take on human forms, but we are not truly alive in the sense that humans or animals are alive. It is the dearest ambition of any daemon to gain a physical form, and some are willing to go at any lengths to get it. So as you can imagine, it didn't take Lucifer much effort to persuade thousands upon thousands of daemons to attack earth. Of course, since we are not alive, we needed human mediums to gain temporary physical forms. So Lucifer, Deathbringer, and Serenade appealed to some humans, luring them and their kingdoms in at the promise of great, dark power. As soon as the humans agreed, the daemons snared them and turned them into hosts. They proceeded to attack other kingdoms, intent on wiping humanity out and taking their place as the strongest creatures in the living world."

Leviathan took up the story. "A devastating war swept across the face of the Earth. The daemonic forces had the upper hand due to their supernatural powers, so they were...how do you modern people say it...winning hand over fist. While fighting, Lucifer ordered Deathbringer and Serenade to find the Fountain of Life-which could be used to make their hosts permanent, along with the gift of eternal life. However, the only two beings who knew the location were angels."

Midnight lowered her head. "Those angels were me and Damien." She whispered.

Sasha and Pudding both gasped. _**"What happened to you na no da?" **_Pudding asked. _**"Why are you a daemon now if you were an angel before?"**_

Midnight sighed. "Both me and Damien were young and foolish then. He was my mate, and I trusted and loved him. We were bonded so deeply that we literally couldn't exist without each other. Damien was curious and overconfident. He thought that he could share such love with everyone he met, human and daemon alike. So we went down to Earth during this war, and that's when Deathbringer and Serenade found us. At first, they attacked us and tried to wrest the secret away by force. But they miscalculated, for Damien was far more powerful than they had expected. He was on par with most Archangels, if you'll believe it. Deathbringer was stubborn and only thought with his fists, and he was furious that he couldn't beat my love. Serenade, however, was smarter, and the greatest trickster in all worlds. And to this day I still kick myself for not keeping a closer eye on him. Serenade waited until I had gone out to fight Deathbringer, and then he spoke to Damien. He pleaded and begged with him, and in the end flat-out lied. Serenade said that the daemons had been wrongfully thrown out of heaven, and invented a story that described their sufferings in hell in great detail. He made it look like daemons were creatures in need of saving, that they were no different than humans, who we had a soft spot for." She shook her head. "Damien was always too kind, too empathetic. He hated knowing that people were suffering and not doing anything about it. Serenade knew this, and he exploited it. And in the end, Damien believed him."

Silence reigned for several long moments. "Serenade said that only the Fountain of Life could set the daemons free. Damien lead him straight to the fountain and I returned just as he was giving the hell general some of the water. I tried to stop him, and fought with Serenade. But then Lucifer came." Midnight's eyes filled with sadness. "He broke our wings and poisoned us, and we turned into daemons ourselves. Lucifer prepared to take Damien with him. He cried out for help, but I was too blinded by his betrayal, and by my broken heart, to heed his cries. Instead, like the coward I was, I fled." The shadow stared at the ground with shame. "It was years and years after that when I heard from Damien again. They had locked him in the darkest chambers of the underworld, and he became bitter and vengeful. When they released him again, he was no longer the boy I knew and loved. He was one of them. A monster, a true daemon. And there was nothing I could do."

"That...stinks." Drew said, startling everyone. The boy was sitting up, rubbing his eyes as if he had just come to his senses.

"How long have you been awake?" Zakuro asked. The daemons dispelled themselves, and Ichigo, Lettuce, Sasha and Pudding all woke up as well.

"Just long enough to hear the end of Midnight's story." Drew answered groggily. "Yeah, Damien is my protective shadow. And yes, he is acting like a jackass. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that guy is definitely up to something."

"Can you elaborate any?" Sasha asked urgently, kneeling down next to her friend. "Did he say anything to you? Did you see anything through his eyes?"

Drew shook his head. "I'm not sure. And I probably won't be able to tell you much after this, since right now he's mentally screaming at me to shut up." A rueful smile crossed the boy's face, while all the other kids winced. "Yesterday, he and that guy Deathbringer broke into a high-security containment center. A couple of guys from there had kidnapped two girls who had turned into mews after the virus spread. I think their names are Elevian and Amy. The men were planning to experiment on them, but Damien and his new mentor broke in and cut them loose. Apparently, rage gives Elevian a violent streak, because after a rather bloody breakout she agreed to assist the two daemons in anything they ask for, and convinced Amy to do the same."

Ichigo felt her throat go dry. "Are they...?" Was all she could manage.

"_**Building a new army?" **_Gaia finished her sentence for her. **_"It's entirely possible."_**

"Oh my god..." Mint muttered. Somehow, Ichigo hadn't noticed her come in.

"Well, that sure sounds like a problem." Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin. Ichigo spun around to see Kish, Pai and Tart standing behind them. Kish looked worried, Tart looked annoyed, and Pai...well, he was acting like he usually does, which means you have no idea how he's feeling.

"Sorry I didn't come see you sooner, kitten." Kish added. "We were having some...technical difficulties."

"Translation-it took Pai several days to fix our main computer after Kish poured a glass of water into it, thinking it was fuel." Tart said bluntly.

"Hey!" Kish protested, glaring at the younger alien. "You dared me to do it!"

"Did not!"

"TARU-TARU!" Pudding cried, tackle-hugging the unsuspecting boy and knocking him to the ground. "You came back to see me na no da!"

"Ow...Pudding...air...can't breath..."

Pai rolled his eyes at the children's antics. "Greetings. We didn't mean to intrude, but Kish insisted that we at least offer help." He sighed and glared at the middle alien.

Shadow jumped to his feet and stared. "Whoa...real aliens!" He took a tentative step forward, looking their new guests up and down. "Aren't these guys the same ones who were involved with the invasion?"

"Yeah." Drew added, gazing at Tart who was desperately trying (and failing) to get out of Pudding's death hug. "They look just like the ones I saw on TV."

"They are." Ichigo confirmed, smiling brightly at Kish. "However, the real person to blame for the invasion was Deep Blue."

"Deep who?" Sasha inquired skeptically.

Pai sighed again. "He was considered a god on our planet." He explained. "Deep Blue had great power that put him on the level of a deity, and he was the one who insisted that we take what used to be our planet back from the humans, who had thrived on it while we were away."

"Wait, you used to live here?" Shadow asked, confused. The mews groaned.

**One explanation later**

"Oh, so it became to hard to live here, so you moved to another planet?" Drew clarified.

"Yes." Pai said. He didn't sound like he really wanted to talk about it. "And before you ask, yes, the living conditions there had also become too hard to live under, so naturally we were desperate and willing to believe anything that would save our dying race. And desperate people are easy to manipulate, as we later learned."

Sasha and Shadow were sympathetic. Sasha said that it was fine, that everyone was okay now, and that we couldn't blame them for doing what duty demanded. Shadow said that as long as the mew aqua sustained their planet, and they didn't attack us, there was nothing for the humans to get touchy about.

In turn, the mews filled Pai, Kish and Tart in on everything that they hadn't already overheard, which mostly consisted of the Mew Virus, and the developments that had quickly occurred over the last few days.

"So now what are we going to do?" Drew asked when everyone knew what was going on.

"I suggest two courses of action." Pai answered. "One of which is that we locate Damien and Deathbringer and discover the full extent of their plan. Do they still know where the Fountain of Life is?"

"_**Yes." **_Midnight replied shortly. **_"However, daemons cannot drink from it, and any human who drinks it with selfish desires in their heart would turn to dust."_**

"That gives us some time, at the very least." The eldest alien concluded. "The second course of action is that if we can't find them, we find more mews. If humanity is really acting hostile towards them, it shouldn't take much to convince them to come to Nikolas's campus and learn to control their powers. If Lucifer is truly rising and creating his own army, we will have our own to stand against him."

"Create an army? Of teenagers?" Zakuro questioned skeptically.

"Hey, a bunch of teenagers defeated a god and staved off the end of the world." Kish pointed out, winking at Ichigo. The pink-haired girl blushed fiercely. "With the right training, they could become great warriors."

"I've heard that teenaged humans are easy to impress on." Pai continued. "If that is true, it couldn't take much persuasion to make them believe that Lucifer is wrong, and to stand against him and his daemon forces."

"And Serenade, the trickster?" Lettuce quipped.

Kish's eyes narrowed. "If he steps out of line, he'll be the first to go. Because brains won't count from crap if you have a dozen rocket launchers aimed at your face."

"Tactically, that makes the most sense." Pai backed his comrade up. "Getting rid of the smartest one first will take away one of their chief tacticians, and from what Midnight has said I gather it is he who does most of the persuading humans and daemons alike to join Lucifer's armies. Without that edge, we may have an advantage over them."

"And what about the rest of humanity?" Drew asked. "The ones who hate mews?"

"Their choice will be between daemons and mew mews." Pai replied coldly. "I suppose it will all depend on which one scares them more."

"Pai, I don't know if that is a good generalization." Lettuce said quietly. Pai turned towards her. He didn't look angry or annoyed, he never seemed to get angry at her. He just looked questioning.

"Why is that?" He asked. There was no trace of mocking in his voice, it was just genuine curiosity.

"Humans are not entirely ruled by fear." Lettuce replied slowly and clearly. "We are not as weak-minded or as cowardly as Lucifer and his generals assume. There are some humans who are cowardly and evil, but there are also many who are brave and honorable. I know of mothers who would fight until the last drop of blood left their body against any foe to protect their child. People who enter the army usually enter for honor, and to protect the people they care about. And it is that light that arms us against Lucifer. It is that concept that eludes his twisted, narrow mind. Evil beings like him cannot grasp that concept, the trait which makes humanity good, and that is why they have always lost. They lost before in the Medieval Ages, and they will loose again this time."

Drew smiled, and for a fleeting moment Ichigo wondered if Lettuce's little speech had shut Damien up mid-rant or something. She doubted that it would have changed his mind, but it would be nice to think they had thrown a wrench in his logic. The other mews in the room all looked re-energized, as if her words had empowered them and their resolve.

"Okay." Mint said, speaking up once again. "How are we going to go about finding other mews to recruit?"

"We could look for them using our radar." Pai answered instantly. "Our ship was equipped with that ability during the war, and I still have it now."

"We should tell Nikolas." Zakuro said. "He could help us with transportation after we locate them."

"He told me today that the construction is halfway done, but not totally complete." Mint pointed out.

"They could stay in the mansion until it's finished!" Pudding exclaimed. "Myself and my siblings could show them around na no da!"

"good, that's good. What are we going to do?" Mint asked.

"Myself, Zakuro, Shadow and Lettuce will help the aliens search for other mew mews." Ichigo announced. "Pudding and her siblings will stay here and help them once they arrive. We're going to have to do all this under the government's nose, so we'll have to be careful. Pai, does you ship have any sort of cloaking device?"

"Yes, we used it to remain undetected the first time we came here." Pai replied.

"Great, that's perfect. Mint, you will oversee any training that happens before the campus is complete. After that, we will take turns searching for other mews, and teaching. Drew, Sasha, I want you two to keep an eye out for other daemons. If they are on our side, good. If they aren't..." Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "I'll give you some battle training, and you know what to do."

Sasha smirked, and Drew managed to crack a smile. "Damien is YOUR protective shadow, Drew." Sasha whispered to her friend. "You do have a certain amount of control over him."

Drew winced, as if Damien had started yelling again. "Yeah...yeah, I think your right."

Ichigo looked at the two with sympathy. They were obviously very close, and it was pretty clear that their daemons didn't have the same relationship-at least, not now. Briefly, Ichigo wondered if they could change Damien back to the way he used to be, the way she had with Mayasa when he had been transformed into Deep Blue. Her battle-ready mind rapidly dismissed the thought. As long as he fought for Lucifer, they would have to treat him as an opponent.

"Alright! Let's hit the road, then!" Tart yelled.

**End Chapter**

**Alright! This chapter I have expanded on the history of the daemons! Plus, this isn't a spelling error. I like spelling it like this and I'm not the only one. It's like a tomato thing. People pronounce it different ways, please don't kill me! I've got this show on a roll and the camera is still rolling! I hope you like it!**

**Review please! It lets me know how I'm doing!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Inner Daemons**

**Ichigo: You're bringing Mortal Combat into this?**

**Moon: No...that's too strange, even for me. Just watch.**

**Alicia: Finally, I'm back on screen -_- Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP. If she had, Mayasa would be dead, and daemons would take over the world.**

**Moon: (insert burst of evil laughter)**

**Ichigo: Someone call the insane asylum, _please_!**

**Chapter 9: The Mew Hunt**

Alicia sat at her desk, her head resting against her hands. Papers were strewn all over her desk and the light was on, although it was almost 11 at night. Anyone could tell by her posture that she was very stressed out. Her jade eyes had gone dark from the time she had spent awake.

The young prodigy tapped her pen against the desktop. There was something very wrong with this situation, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Pushing some of the other pages aside, she pulled up the letter confirming the confiscation of the Mew Serum. She read it over twice. Sure enough, it had only happened two weeks ago, around the same time the infamous Mew Virus had spread.

Skimming over the information, Alicia groaned in frustration. She searched through the pile once again, this time coming up with Ryou Shirogane's written statistics for his Mew Serum. "It should only work when targeting a particular person." She read out loud. There was a pause, and then a faint banging as she put her head on the desk. "Then why has this happened? I'm missing something important, I just know it..."

The original serum only worked on a single person. The Virus spread across the world and infected hundreds upon hundreds overnight. There was a link missing somewhere.

Alicia looked between the retrieval papers and the statistics. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and called her secretary.

"Alicia? Why are you awake so late?" The other woman questioned, concerned. Alicia knew why; she hardly ever stayed up past her initial work hours.

"I'm looking at the papers confirming the retrieval of the Mew Serum. Is it still in the vaults?" She questioned.

"It should be." She replied uneasily. "Hold on." She put her friend on hold. Alicia waited and waited about ten minutes before the secretary returned. "You won't like this. It isn't here."

"Where is it then?" The detective/paranormal investigator prompted.

"Apparently, it never arrived. Someone intercepted it early on."

Alicia felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Why was the alarm never raised?" She demanded. "If we had tracked it down, maybe the Mew Virus wouldn't have occurred!"

"I know. But the men claimed they had received papers claiming that the mew serum had been relocated to another base of operations."

This was going to be one of those days when Alicia hated her job. "Is there any of it left over?" She asked desperately.

"Let me ask..." A few minutes passed. "Yes. According to the papers in front of me, there is a jar full of serum in the vaults."

"Could you dig it out for me?" Alicia asked. The secretary gasped. "Please. It's very important. I have this gut feeling that we're missing something. The Virus and the Serum are connected somehow, I just don't know how. I need to find out. For all we know, there could be an entire conspiracy behind it." There was a pause. "Please Anne, trust me." Alicia pleaded with her old friend.

There was another pause. "I can't make any promises Alicia, but I'll try my best." Anne replied reluctantly.

"Thank you. Please have it sent to this office as soon as possible." Alicia hug up, grabbed her coat and ran to the fridge. It would be a while before she slept again, so a cup of coffee was in order. Then she needed to see the creators of the Mew Mew Project.

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Ryou leaned against the wall of his cell, throwing a pebble at the bars. He could barely sleep in this place, partially because of the other inmates, and partially because of the rank air and metal bed. Not pleasant sleeping conditions.

He sighed. Keiichiro had managed to fall asleep; he wished his partner had not had to have been locked up too. The man was too sweet to have to live in this black hole.

"Shirogane!" A gruff voice snapped, and a harsh light poured into his cell. Ryou raised a hand in front of his eyes. "You have a visitor."

"Right now? At this time of night?" Ryou muttered, rubbing his eyes. He didn't have a clock, but he could tell by the tone of the light through his barred window. Who would come out to see him right now?

"Hurry up!" The guard snapped. Ryou had gotten the feeling that this man didn't like him much; probably because he made it clear that he didn't like the food he was given. Who wouldn't, when what they were fed was practically pig slop?

All the same, he got up and walked up to the door. The guard slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrist and lead him down the halls and into a white room, where his guest was waiting.

Ryou was surprised, to say the least. He certainly hadn't been expecting Alicia Roberts to be here, since she had put him in jail in the first place. She was exactly the same age as him, and looked as if she hadn't slept in a month. Her eyes were still serious, albeit shadowed by exhaustion. Her hair wasn't pinned up; it looked as if she hadn't had the time to put effort into brushing it. There was an official-looking envelope sitting on her lap.

"Alicia, right?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes." She said shortly. "Have you seen the news lately?"

Ryou nodded slowly. "Yes."

Alicia held up two vials. One of them held the original mew serum, and the other one was labeled 'Mew Virus'. "I need you to analyze both these Serums. It's very important."

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Ichigo looked out the window of the spaceship, feeling like she could just drop dead any second now. They had been moving across the country almost without stop, and they had recovered over ten mew mews. They were all no older than her, and were pretty scared.

One of them was Alyssa, the Lynx. She had white-blonde hair that was so wild and messy that on first glance you wouldn't notice her white lynx ears. She has _amber _eyes. Seriously. She also had a tail, and she thought it looked awkward.

Another one was Felix, a penguin mew. He was about nine and tall for his age. He didn't have any conspicuous animal parts, but if he touched you when he was angry about something chances are you would turn into a block of ice.

There were also the twins, Jean and Stephan. They were both falcon mews, and spent more time fighting with each other than they did fighting with everyone else in their lives, and that included bullies, teachers and parents. Impressive, huh? We_ just _managed to pick them up in the middle of a riot they had accidentally started after they blew up their house.

Pai was steering a course for Nikolas's mansion. "We'll be landing in ten minutes." He informed everyone over the intercom. "If you've stood up, please sit down and stay down until we land again. And yes Jean, that means you too." He added with a scowl in his tone. Yeah, he didn't like Jean very much after their rather sour meeting.

Jean growled at him, but sat down next to Alyssa. Ichigo sighed. Kish turned his head towards her and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong, kitten?"

"I'm so tired." Ichigo muttered.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Kish said. "If you fall asleep, I'll carry you in."

Ichigo's face turned dark red, and the other girls on board giggled.

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"Okay, these will be your bedrooms until the campus has been completed." Mint informed the group. "Before anyone asks, there will be absolutely no co-ed sleeping conditions. Breakfast will be at 8 am tomorrow. Try to get some sleep, because you training will start tomorrow as well. The bathrooms are down the hall and to the left. Any questions?"

Felix's hand shot up. "You there. What's your name?"

"Felix. And training for what? Are we going to fight people?" The boy asked. He sounded excited, as if the prospect of fighting appealed to him. Clearly, he hadn't been exposed to war's true nature quite yet. The mews winced internally as they once again reviewed what they were going to get these kids into.

"For now, we're training to control our powers." Shadow answered helpfully. "It's mostly learning how to make this transformation work for you and turn you into able fighters."

This time, Alyssa's hand went up. "What about the people who were chasing us?"

"They can't follow you here." Drew informed her, his tone comforting. "Not only is this private property, but stalking is illegal. Don't worry."

"Will we be fighting each other in combat training?" Stephan asked, glancing at his twin as if he was facinizing using her as a target board.

"Eventually." Zakuro said. "But for now, you'll have to use dummies. Any other questions?" This time, no hands went up. "Good. You should all get some sleep."

**End Chapter**

**Okay, that was kinda lame. It's mainly filler, because I wanted to get a few things straightened out. Alicia is back in; she will be a major character. Just like Sasha and Drew. The others are side characters. Like Luna Lovegood. (Harry Potter on the brain) They will have their parts, just not as big as the canon cast and those OCs. **

**Review please! I need them to get better!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Inner Daemons**

**Damien: thank you for finally getting me back on screen. -_-**

**Moon: Will you kids be patient? I'm working as fast as I can!**

**Damien: KIDS? I AM NOT A CHILD! I! AM! A! GENERAL!**

**Moon: I do not own TMM or MMP-DAMIEN PUT THAT FRYING PAN DOWN!**

**Chapter 10: Damien's plan**

Elevian looked around. The room was brightly lit, and it was full of people. She recognized some of them, like the five boys with hyena ears. _They were the ones who broke into that jewelry store, _she thought.

She knew what kind of people where here. Juvenile delinquents. Thieves. People guilty of assault and/or bringing guns to school. What else would you expect when your leaders were daemons?

"What are we waiting for, Deathbringer?" One of the hyena boys asked loudly. His voice was heavy with annoyance, as if he was getting sick of sitting around, just waiting. Everyone was getting restless, as if growing more and more impatient.

"We're waiting for Serenade." Deathbringer answered calmly. Out of the corner of her eye, Elevian saw Damien's expression darken at the name, as if he was remembering something unpleasant. "He will tell us our first move."

"That's right." A new voice said. Everyone in the room jumped when a new daemon materialized out of shadows, right in between Damien and Deathbringer. He had smooth black wings and slitted green eyes that would have been beautiful, if not laden with hate and scorn.

In a second though, those dark emotions were gone, replaced with a friendliness and warmth that seemed perfectly innocent. He was dressed in a very formal manner, and his bronze hair was cropped short.

"Greetings." Serenade's voice was flawlessly polite, and had an upper-class tone to it. "It is a pleasure to meet each and every one of you. I am Serenade, right hand man to Lucifer himself. Do any of you know why you are here?"

No one answered. Serenade turned to Deathbringer, a scowl on his face. "Really now, Nuteritor Mortis? You brought them here, it was rude not to tell them what was going on." Deathbringer merely glared at the other daemon. Serenade looked at Damien for a minute, before nodding in acknowledgment and turning towards the other kids again. Again, only Elevian seemed to notice the hateful look that crossed Damien's face. Amy was too busy staring at Serenade, wondering what her best friend had talked her into getting involved with.

"We have rescued you." Serenade said. "Each and every one of you has been touched by the hand of evolution, and for that you are being hated, persecuted, and driven away from your homes simply because you were different. Is this right? No. And we know that.

You see, angels have always been far too lenient when it came to humans. They were always coming up with all kinds of stories to excuse their actions. They, and you parents and everyone you trusted, are now standing by and watching you fall. The same way they did with us. We were different, had different ideas, and for that we were thrown away. But you have not fallen. You are the strong ones, and you _must_ stand and take back what is rightfully yours."

Serenade continued to talk, his words whipping up the hatred of the mews in the room. Deathbringer listened hungrily, as if he were daydreaming about the battles that were to follow. Elevian discreetly slipped closer and closer to Damien.

"You don't like him." The silver-winged daemon turned towards her, as if surprised she was speaking to him. His expression clearly read; _You noticed?_

"It's a long story. Let's just say I have some...history with him." Damien said slowly. Elevian looked him up and down, tossing her blonde hair out of her face.

"Care to share it?" She asked sweetly.

"...Maybe some other time." Damien said distantly. Elevian huffed but didn't press any further, she just maintained her position at his side. Back at her school, every boy had noticed her. Why wasn't he? Well, he would eventually. Elevian didn't like to think of herself as a vain person, but what boy wouldn't ignore a beauty like her?

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Alicia looked over the serum again. "I hate it when I'm right." She said, shaking her head. Ryou remained silent. The development upset him. Someone had taken his work, which had been created to save the world, and had turned it into a virus that could potentially cause the greatest war ever to touch the face of the earth.

That went against the principle, the very _existence _of the Mew Serum. It was meant to protect, not to destroy. Ryou longed to confront whoever had done this and make them pay for what they had done to destroy the peace he, Keiichiro and most importantly the Mews had fought so hard to achieve. But what could he do? He was jailed! 

Ryou turned to Alicia, an almost desperate look in his eyes. Alicia saw it, and she bit her lip. Ryou would know the workings of the serum better than anyone. Maybe he would be able to convince the government that mews weren't dangerous, since he was the one to create them.

But something nagged inside her. The strange creatures she had seen lately in her paranormal investigations had been appearing all over the place. Something told her it was too late for that. Everything was on the brink of going down in flames, suspended by a mere thread. The snap was going to come any day, and they needed to figure out what the hell was going on before that happened.

"You have to let me talk to the mews." Ryou said, his voice coming out as pathetic and pleading. He cursed himself and tried to sound more composed. "It may be our only shot at getting to the bottom of this."

"Yes, but will they want to speak to you? They were your victims." Alicia raised a hand when Ryou looked ready to argue. "Look. I agree that something needs to be done. But those girls may hold a grudge and you are still under police custody. As a detective, there's only so much authority I have. I don't want to bend the rules for this."

Ryou sighed. He knew that she was right; they couldn't just ignore the law. But he had to talk to them and find out if they knew anything. He just _knew _that it was important. "Please try." He implored.

Alicia looked at the other boy's face for a few long seconds before pulling out her cell phone. "Chief? I need a minute. This is important."

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Shadow had never felt so tired in his entire life. His teacher's constant yelling and strict rules had always annoyed him. Now he knew exactly how she felt. Running a class was not an easy thing to do, especially when some of the students (cough-Jean and Stephan-cough) were constantly whispering or arguing in class.

He and Zakuro had been teaching tag-team fighting to their newest recruits, and right now he desperately needed an aspirin.

Zakuro looked at him with concern. "It's not easy being a teacher, is it?"

Shadow grabbed a glass of water, drained it dry, and then looked back at her. "No, it isn't. You seem like a natural at it though."

"I had to teach basic fighting skills to the other girls in the days of the invasion." Zakuro answered, glancing at the ceiling. This was the first time she had ever talked to a boy around her age who wasn't a screaming fanbrat, so it felt a little strange to her, although not in an entirely bad way. "It took an infuriatingly long time, but they eventually got the hang of it."

"I hope that happens with these guys." Shadow said. "Thank good for the two-fifteen break. I wouldn't have lasted much longer."

"How are Drew and Sasha? Have they sent a report of their scout mission yet?"

"Not yet."

"I hope they're delay isn't occurring because Drew released Damien again..."

"I don't think that's something he has a lot of control over." Shadow said grimly. "When it comes to push and shove, daemons have more mental strength than us. If Damien wants out, he gets out." Zakuro shook her head.

"If so, I hope Sasha knows enough not to go after him alone." She said. Shadow leaned against the table, running his fingers through his hair.

"When I went to school the day I turned into a mew, I never thought I'd get wrapped up in something this insane. It's like we've walked into some screwed up Dracula remake." He said. Zakuro looked at him. He was cute, for a simple street guy...

She shook her head, dislodging the thoughts. _You're being silly, Zakuro. _She scolded herself.

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Sasha wandered through the streets, wondering what was taking Drew so long. He had said that he was going to meet her at this spot ten minutes ago. And he was never late, or at least he tried not to be. She was just about to call him when someone tapped her shoulder.

Sasha spun around to see Drew in his mew form, eyes wide with worry. "What's wrong?" She asked anxiously.

"I just saw Serenade." He hissed.

Sasha gasped. "You did? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, but I had to put up some mental barriers to keep Damien from spying on us through my mind..." Drew shook his head. _I can't believe I'm hosting one of our opponents, and there's nothing I can do about it. _He thought in frustration.

"What's going on?" Sasha asked.

"Well, from the snippets I saw through Damien's barriers was in a huge room. I'm not sure where...but there are a lot of mews in there. Thieves and such. Serenade is talking to them...the words I could catch were 'take back what was yours'".

"_**He hasn't changed a bit." **_Midnight said coldly.

"He's planning to make a move...but I couldn't hear the details. Something about mounting a strike somewhere, but where and when I don't know."

Sasha frowned, before a small smirk crossed her face. "Do you feel like squeezing it out of a certain someone? I'll give you a hint. He's been causing a lot of trouble recently..."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

"I do not like this, I do not like this at all." Ichigo said, pacing back and forth. Sasha and Drew had just returned, and they had just finished their report.

"Koneko-chan! Turn on a TV!" Kish shouted from the next room. Everyone spun around and ran into the next room. Tart was trying to comfort Pudding's siblings while he stared at the screen. Ichigo looked up with a sinking heart.

The footage showed a group of Lucifer's new soldiers running through the streets, upturning cars and setting them on fire, breaking store windows, knocking over street lamps and generally causing chaos and panic.

People were fleeing in every direction, and a heavily armed assault force was coming in and surrounding the area.

Ichigo was the first to break out of her trance. "The interrogation will have to wait. Come on! We have to help stop that riot!"

"Where is it?" Mint asked anxiously.

The answer was far from pleasant. "It's back at home in Tokyo!"

"Oh no! Our parents!" Lettuce shrieked.

**End Chapter**

**Oh dear oh dear oh dear. The wheels of war are in motion, and lots of crap is scheduled to explode. Will the mews evacuate everyone in time? How will their parents react if they manage to survive the attack? And will the government let this slide, or will they turn their anger and fear on mews all around the world?**

**Like it? Hate it? The only way I'll know is if you review! It helps me get better!**


	11. Chapter 11: Assault, Part 1

**Inner Daemons**

**Ichigo: You are a complete nutcase. Why haven't you been locked up yet?**

**Moon: Because I'm good at hiding it, and I only take it out on people who aren't in the right place to fight back. :)**

**Ichigo: I hate you.**

**Moon: I've told you before. Stuff. It. I do not own TMM or MMP. Zero belongs to I lov3 Wizardmon.**

**Chapter 11: The first assault**

***With Daimen***

Damien glanced back at his hikari's unconscious form. "Damn him." The daemon muttered, shaking his head. "He's so stubborn, and he can't see how much I can't stand being near her..." He shook his head. "What's taking him so long?"

"Hold your horses Damien. It's not easy to sneak around under Serenade's nose." Another daemon stepped out of the shadows. He had emerald green hair that was tied up in a ponytail. His outfit consisted of ripped black jeans, long black fingerless gloves, and a black t-shirt that said Love is Pure yet Evil. He also had a long trench coat and boots. His eyes were heterochromic-one was lilac purple and the other was blue. In his hand sat a small crystal.

The new daemon raised it up, and Damien's form became transparent. Drew woke up, a confused look on his face. Sasha ran over to him.

"_Drew! We have to hurry...Serenade has launched an assault on Tokyo!" _Damien growled softly, scenting his former mate's presence. The new daemon noticed his expression and smiled wryly.

"You know that girl's shadow?"

"None of your business Zero." Damien snapped.

Zero put his hands in the air. "Hey, I believe you were the one who said that we were supposed to trust each other if we were going to go through with this. I didn't realize that meant that you were allowed to keep secrets."

Damien scowled, realizing that he had talked himself into a corner in that respect. He didn't want to talk about it, but... "That female daemon used to be an angel, like me." He answered shortly.

Zero chuckled. "Was she your girlfriend?"

Damien gave his companion a death glare. The other merely chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes?" He asked.

"Shove off." The blonde daemon muttered, ignoring the sharp pain in his heart. Emotion was weakness, he had learned that after she had betrayed him and left him to be dragged to hell. He would get revenge... "Anyway, how's it going?"

"There are two mews that are ready to help us." Zero answered. "Elevian and Amy. I suppose they feel grateful for you saving them."

"The eagle mew and the bear mew?" Damien asked, sighing. "It's a start, I suppose. Trust will be essential when the war starts."

"Human beings are so strange." Zero muttered.

"I second that. Now let's get moving before Deathbringer or Serenade start wondering where we are. I don't need them breathing down on my neck any more than they do now." Damien and Zero both spread their wings and took off, heading towards the center of the Tokyo Assault.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Ichigo ran down her street, fully transformed. Her house wasn't too far away; it was just around the corner. If she could just get there...

She and Sasha rounded the corner, and stopped abruptly. Every house on the street had been set on fire. There were an assortment of mews there, and two daemons. Sasha winced. Midnight was stirring.

"_**Damien. Zero." **_She snarled softly.

Ichigo shook her head violently. Right now, she could care less about the two daemons or Midnight's problems. "I need to find my parents!" She shouted.

"You go on ahead." Sasha said, glancing at her leader. "I'll take care of them."

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked, although she kept glancing in the direction of her house. Sasha didn't want to keep her.

"I'm sure. Now GO!" The cat mew was off like a rocket. Sasha grabbed her phone and sent Lettuce a text. It read; _Come to Ichigo's house. The street is on fire. I need backup. _She shoved it into her pocket and transformed.

The hyena mew looked up, and had three seconds to be surprised before Sasha tackled him, knocking him off his feet. His friends reacted more rapidly, swarming towards her. Sasha gritted her teeth and back-kicked two of them away.

The one she had knocked over grunted and punched her. Winded, Sasha rolled over and stood up as quickly as possible. All five hyenas charged towards her. She gulped and jumped at the last second. While dancing on her toes trying to avoid them, she felt eyes boring on her.

She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw the blonde daemon staring at him. _Damien, _she thought, panicking slightly. How was she going to fight a daemon general?

Suddenly, a gush of water exploded over the street. Some of the fires were washed away, and Lettuce, Jean and Stephan appeared. Both the recruits were carrying buckets of water, which they used to put out more fires.

Lettuce ran over to help Sasha. She raised her weapons and sent a jet of water at her attackers, knocking them over like dominoes. Sasha pushed herself off the ground and drew her energy blade. Ichigo had just dragged her unconscious parents out of her burning house, and she joined the fray.

Woe to whatever unlucky soul had dared mess with her family.

Sasha found herself alone in the midst of the chaos. She turned around and found Damien standing in front of her. Drew was lying in a heap nearby. His expression was twisted with pain, as if he had struggled with the dark being and failed.

The look of hate on his face hurt Sasha, mostly on the count of the fact it was all just a mistake on Midnight's part. It hurt her that such a gentle, kind person had become so cold and full of malice. And above all, it hurt her to know that he was prepared to attack Midnight for revenge. The gentle black-haired mew genuinely disliked negative vibes, so this bothered her greatly.

She tensed up, watching her new opponent nervously.

"_**Give me control**_," Midnight exclaimed. **_"You're not nearly strong enough to fight him."_**

"_**But-" **_Sasha started to protest, but she got cut off.

"_**We don't have time to argue!" **_Her daemon insisted, and Sasha found herself on the dark beach once again. She shook her head.

"I just wanted to spare you the pain..."

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

On the other side of town, Shadow, Zakuro, Kish, Pai and Tart were worrying about something else entirely. They were fighting a mix of mews and daemons, and none of them went down easily. So far, they hadn't seen any of the three daemon generals. It was mostly just thugs and low-ranked monsters.

Pai was fighting a blonde eagle mew. Her wing-bits were giving him a lot of trouble, so Shadow went up to help him. The girl hissed in his direction.

"Give up!" She said heatedly. "You're fighting for a lost cause."

"Are peace and love lost causes?" Shadow challenged, glaring at her. Twin guns appeared in his clenched hands. "Is chaos and anarchy really that much better?"

"They won't thank you for this;" The eagle spat. "If anything, you're only digging yourself deeper, proving how dangerous you are!"

"You the one to talk, since you and your daemon friends are the ones who started this mess in the first place!" The vampire bat mew retorted. He wasn't about to let this girl patronize him...

Out of nowhere, one of the eagle-girl's wing bits hit him on the side of the head, hard. Shadow growled, and morphed into a rather large bat with lasers attached to his wings. The eagle-girl shrieked, and started flying away from him. Shadow caught her in a few calm wingstrokes. Both his lasers grazed her wings.

The eagle mew was beyond furious, but a blast of lightning hit her from behind. Pai had retrieved his weapon and had attacked again. The mew looked between him and Shadow, before hissing, hitting the ground and running off. She was headed in the direction of Ichigo's street...

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Midnight's fists clenched, staring back at her former mate with mixed emotions. He glared back at her, eyes dark with hate.

"It's been a while..." His voice came as a bit of a shock. Even after all this time, she had still remembered his voice as being gentle and soothing. Now it was harsh, malevolent and cold. A painful reminder of what her cowardice had cost her. "...Leah."

Midnight let out a hiss at the sound of her old name spoken with such loathing and scorn. "Why, Damien?" She asked quietly. "Why did you do this? Why did you join them?"

Damien spun his blade around his wrist. "I think you know the answer to that." He replied coldly, eyes narrowing. "I think the better question is... why did you join _them_?"

"I joined them because I wanted to put an end to Lucifer's evil." Midnight, by some miracle, managed to keep her voice steady. "Damien...please. I don't want to hurt you..."

"Too late for _that_." The blonde daemon spat. "You should have thought of that when you _let them drag me to hell!_"

Midnight winced. Her resolve was fading. Was there any point fighting Damien if he wouldn't return to her? There was no excuse for her mistake, anyhow. She was the one who had failed him, after all...

_**Midnight? **_Sasha's concerned voice rang through her mind like a gunshot, causing her to blink. Damien noticed the break in her concentration and attacked.

Midnight had known that at some point she would have to fight him. But how could she summon the will to fight the one person she loved?

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Ichigo was standing stiff, the hair on her ears and tail standing straight up. She was facing Zero, who was leaning back against a nearby car, smirking.

"Hello, kitty." He said. "How does the town look? I think the remodeling looks splendid."

"That is so typical of daemons," Ichigo growled. "The only beauty you'll ever see is in destruction and pain!"

Zero shrugged. "So you say. Are we evil? I don't really know. We live on different panes of existence, cat-girl. Can you judge me by the standards of your people?"

Ichigo scowled. "Don't get fresh with me."

The emerald-haired daemon raised an eyebrow. "Who made you my mother?"

_**Snarky jerk, isn't he? **_Shade remarked dryly inside Ichigo's head.

_**I second that. **_Zero blinked, as if he had just realized something.

"Shade? Is that you? Wow, I haven't seen you in ages!" He cheered, as if suddenly everything was going his way.

_**You know him? **_Ichigo asked.

Shade sighed. _**Yes. He dated Leviathan for a while.**_

_**WHAT?**_

**End Chapter**

**Yay! Some lame action and pointless buildup! Sorry, my imagination kinda flat-lined during this chapter so it's pretty lame. In the next chapter, I promise you'll see Damien and Midnight fight, as well as Leviathan and Zero. What can I say? Keep your enemies close, and keep you Ex closer XD**

**Read and Review please! Or daemons will take over the world!**


	12. Chapter 12: Asssault, Part 2

**Inner Daemons**

**Me: I'm back. Sorry the last chapter was kinda pointless, but like I said, I ran out of ideas and just winged it. That's why it looks so bad. Please don't leave! It gets better from here on out! I promise!**

**Shade: I figured.**

**Ichigo: What's she got in store for us?**

**Leviathan: You don't wanna know. Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP. She does own all her OCs and the plot, so don't steal it!**

**Chapter 12: The Assault, part 2**

***With Lettuce and Leviathan***

Lettuce felt the bloodlust several minutes before Zero came into view. Leviathan was going nuts inside her mind, and she was starting to get a really bad headache because of it.

"_**I can't believe him! Why would he turn up now, after he...! He promised! Why?" **_The spirit raged, and Lettuce had to put a hand on her forehead.

"_**Ow...Levi...not so loud, you're still inside my head..." **_Lettuce said non-verbally. The timid mew visibly winced at Levi's anger and unhappiness. Out of all of the mews, Lettuce and Sasha were both easily the most gentle and empathetic. Neither of them liked negative vibes, and the feelings Leviathan was emitting right now made Lettuce cringe in sympathy.

Zero looked absurdly happy to see her, which made Lettuce wonder about the state of his sanity. "Levi!" He cheered, grinning. "Gosh, I haven't seen you in the longest time."

Lettuce thought that her shadow was going to explode. She glanced towards the opposing daemon and sighed. She had been hoping to avoid yet another needless conflict, but at the rate this was going it would become unavoidable. "What is all this about?" She asked tiredly. "Or do I not want to know?"

"Actually, it wasn't that serious. I still like her actually...she's just a little pissed off because I joined Lucifer's army. I want to be alive, right? What's wrong with that?" Zero said, sounding all so innocent.

"_**Oh don't you deny it Zero!" **_Leviathan raged. Lettuce slammed her hands over her ears. **_"It's a lot more complicated than that! You effectively betrayed me, knowing that I had chosen to become a protective shadow to the humans!"_**

"I just think you're taking this way to personally. I really wasn't intending to do anything of the sort." Zero protested. He sounded almost childish, as if he couldn't figure out why Leviathan was so angry at him.

Lettuce sighed. "I give up." She muttered.

**With Damien and Midnight**

Midnight hit the ground and rolled over, forcing herself to stand up again. Damien stood across from her, eyes narrowed.

"Why won't you fight?" He growled. Midnight didn't answer, she just gazed back at him with an unreadable expression. This served to anger him more. "Answer me!" He kicked her in the side.

Sasha knew what was happening, even though she was on the dark beach. She wanted to help Midnight, she wanted to prove to Damien that he was the wrong one here-but she couldn't do anything because Midnight was out. Right?

Midnight continued to do nothing as Damien tossed her around. Sasha couldn't take it. The world before her flashed twice, and suddenly she was awake again. She had a horrible headache, but by some miracle she was awake and could move around.

"Damien!" She shouted, transforming and standing up. Both daemons spun around and stared at her in astonishment. "Stop it _now_!"

"..._Sasha_?" Midnight exclaimed weakly. Sasha nodded briefly before turning her eyes towards the blonde blue-eyed boy in front of her.

"You know exactly what kind of slimy lying leech Serenade is, so why the hell are you FOLLOWING him?" Sasha demanded with a power she didn't really feel. She knew very well how powerful Damien was; but if she showed him that she was scared, she would loose her only advantage-screwing with his head.

It was just like that time with the bully that had tormented her and Drew.

"That's none of your business." Damien snapped. His eyes glowed hotly; he clearly didn't like being challenged by a human.

"When you attack my people, hurt my friends, and torment my best friend since childhood, it _becomes _my business!" Sasha threw back. "You were an angel too, weren't you? Why would you turn your back on love and justice for a freak who has caused you nothing but pain!"

Damien winced. "Because... it's the right thing to do."

"HOW?" Sasha pounced on the obvious sore point and continued to verbally thrash her opponent. "Hell is the place of torment, people aren't sent there for no reason! Daemons are creatures of chaos, that is why they are there! Serenade manipulated you into believing his lies, and you following him like a mindless drone!"

"You dare-!"

"Yeah, I think I do!" Sasha gripped her sword and stared fearlessly back at the angered daemon. "Damien, don't be stupid! Haven't you noticed Midnight hasn't been fighting back? You're so wrapped up in your own pain you never even considered hers!"

"SHE BETRAYED ME!" The way Damien said that, Sasha new that he was completely convinced of that.

"She screwed up, yes. If you really loved her, you would have tried to see past it!" Sasha felt some cruel satisfaction on seeing the expression on Damien's face-he looked as if he had been smacked between the eyes. "Lucifer was the one who dragged you to hell! _Lucifer _is to blame for your suffering in hell!"

Damien lashed out at her, but Sasha ignored the pain. "Wake the hell up, Damien!" She screamed before bringing her saber down on him.

Yelling sounded from all around. The mews had routed the daemons and mews, put out the fires and held the upper hand. Ichigo ordered them to charge, and the daemons and their allies were forced to turn and run.

Damien staggered a bit, surprised that he had been hit. He stared at both Sasha and Midnight, anger and confusion in his eyes, before he vanished. Drew groaned and sat up.

The other members of the team quickly gathered around him. Jean and Stephan looked pretty proud of themselves. Felix was helping bind one of Alyssa's wounds. Shadow, Zakuro, Pai, Kish, Tart were scarred in places, but otherwise alright.

Midnight glanced up at Sasha before dispelling her human form as well. _**"You were very brave, Sasha. Thank you for helping me."**_

"I think it's safe to say I've jarred him up a bit." Sasha said hopefully, kneeling next to Drew. "Maybe he'll come to his senses later."

Ichigo looked between them, her eyes dark with seriousness. "We've won the first battle, but more are to come. That was pretty much a declaration of war. I don't know how the world governments are going to react, but we'll need to stay on our toes."

"They can't blame us for it!" Felix complains, while Alyssa put a hand on his shoulder. "We just saved everyone!"

"Hopefully we'll be able to make them see that." Alyssa said optimistically.

"We should head back now to get treated. Any injury must be reported, now matter how trivial it seems. Even if it's a _splinter_, I need you to tell us about it!" Ichigo implored. Zakuro couldn't help but smile, her friend was becoming a leader.

They headed back to the ship. Pai and Kish brought along Ichigo's parents for safety measures, since the daemons could get to the pink mew through them. Shadow had a slight limp, but his eyes were burning. Zakuro offered him a hand as they all got into the ship. Pai flew them back to the mansion.

Leviathan was sulking. Lettuce sighed. _**"I wish you would understand that you're just suffering form a miss-communication."**_

***Elsewhere in Tokyo, with Mayasa and Serenade***

Serenade had to scowl when he finally found the house he was looking for. It was so...green. So pretty-looking.

The Trickster was like most daemons in the sense that he loved chaos, disorder and ruin. So seeing such a pretty little garden annoyed him to no end. He had a feeling that the person he was searching for was either a perfectionist or an environmentalist. Either way, he already disliked this boy and he hadn't even met him yet.

Serenade walked around to the boy's window, before turning into a shadow and entering the house. It was mostly empty...the parents seemed to be away. Well, that saved him the trouble of having to silence them. Everything was very organized, even the boy's room. The first thing Serenade noticed were the multiple pictures of a familiar-looking red-haired girl. _Wait a moment...that's the girl who lead the counterattack against us. Ichigo? Yes, that's what her name was. Shade was helping her. Does this boy know her? _

Mayasa Aoyama was lying on his bed, as if he were sleeping badly. Serenade turned his full attention towards the boy. "Let's have a little look..." He put a finger on Mayasa's forehead and began searching his mind.

The information came quickly; clearly the boy had no idea how to set up his own mental barriers. _I was right. He has hosted a fallen angel/false god before. That girl? What on-YUCK! Human obsession was always gross. _Serenade cringed a bit at the boy's thoughts about this Ichigo girl. _I can't believe this is the ONLY human who's remotely compatible with our lord...he is selfish and obsessed, that should count for something. But he really better learn to put a lid on those thoughts._

"Boy. Wake up." Serenade grabbed Mayasa's shoulders and shook him a little roughly.

"Ow..." The dumb little human rubbed his eyes, looked up at the daemon, and screamed. "AAHHH! WHO ARE YOU? GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Serenade put a silencer on Mayasa's mouth. "Do not scream." He ordered. "And calm down."

Mayasa looked around wildly, and then up at the winged, bronze-haired man in front of him. He tried to speak, but the silencer wouldn't let him. The daemon general decided to get straight to the point. "I have come to you in a time of need. Our leader needs a body and unfortunately, you are the only human with the ability to host a false god. If do you become his vessel, you will be rewarded with anything you desire. Any questions?" Serenade removed the silencer.

Mayasa leaned over, rubbing his lips, trying to figure out what had just happened. "A false god? You mean...Deep Blue? But-"

"I am not referring to the alien." Serenade remained calm, but inside he was becoming impatient. How stupid was this boy? "I am talking about my lord, Lucifer."

"Lucifer? The fallen angel? ...He exists?" Mayasa was dumbfounded. "Why...would he need me?"

"Daemons are not alive. We can manifest ourselves with Spiritual energy, but we are not alive in the sense that humans and animals are. The only way we can gain the gift of life is to have a human vessel, and drink the water of the Fountain of Life. That's where you come in." Serenade answered crisply and clearly.

"Me...? Host Lucifer? I think you've made a mistake; I couldn't possibly be worthy!"

_Ahh, so he has some insecurities. That's always useful. _"I assure you, you are exactly the kind of person I have spent _years _looking for. After all, my lord would settle for nothing less than the best."

"You're right." Mayasa said slowly. "I am the best schoolboy around. I've done more than most kids my age ever have. But what can I get out of it?"

Serenade smirked. He had the answer to that planned out as well. "I can get you the one you desire most. It may be a bit tricky, but I can bring you Ichigo."

Mayasa thought for a moment, but the Trickster already knew his answer. _Got him, hook, line and sinker. _Thankfully, the idiotic mortal couldn't see the smirk he was trying to hide.

"I'm in."

**End Chapter**

**Yes, Mayasa will be the host for Lucifer. However, there is logic behind it! He has hosted a powerful entity before (Deep Blue) so he has a huge range of Spiritual Power. Therefore, he is the perfect choice host for the Lord of Evil. So there! (smirks) **

**Anyway, this is turning into a bit of a war story, but it gets better from here! And yes, I DO have romance scheduled! (it's just been moving along slowly) I promise! **

**Review! It helps me get even better!**


	13. Waiting Game

**Inner Daemons**

**Ichigo: How long as we going to be enslaved to this person?**

**Shade: I heard she wanted this story to be fairly long...**

**Ichigo: ! ! !**

**Leviathan: We'll survive...I think. Isn't she planning to kill someone?**

**Moon: I'm not telling you. I do not own TMM or MMP , nor do I own Zero. He belongs to I lov Wizardmon. But I do own the other daemons, all the mew mew OCs, and the plot.**

**Chapter 13: Waiting Game**

**Back at the mansion**

Ichigo was in room by herself, taking out her feelings on a punching bag. Her hair was soaked, and her eyes were glowing with frustration, anger, and a variety of negative emotions.

"**_Hikari? What's wrong?" _**Shade asked, appearing in a transparent form next to the bag.

"Nothing." Ichigo muttered, before punching the bag so hard it almost broke.

"**_I don't buy that." _**Shade snorted. **_"I know you better than that, Ichigo...what's wrong? You can' tell me about it, you know. It won't leave this room if you don't want it too..."_**

Ichigo took her time replying, while still beating up on the innocent sand bag. Her knuckles turned red and she was breathless by the time she chose to take a break. She sat down.

"It's this whole 'impending war', Shade." The pink mew responded. Shade had never seen her hikari look so exhausted, even when she had been observing her heart during the Deep Blue/Mew Aqua fiasco. "I think the other mews expect me to be their leader. And, I want to. It would be an honor, but..." unexpectedly, tears welled up in the girl's eyes. "I don't think I could stand watching them die in battle against those daemons."

Ichigo put her hands in her face and began to cry quietly. Shade murmured something comforting before flying out of the room.

A minute later, she came back with Kish. The alien sat down next to Ichigo and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's hard, isn't it?" He asked gently. "Being at the head of everything?"

"You don't understand." Ichigo protested weakly, sobbing.

"I think I do." Kish answered. "I had to lead Pai and Tart into battle against you and your original team during the invasion. My leader drilled it into us that if we failed, we'd be letting down all of our people and their deaths would be on our shoulders."

Ichigo flinched, thinking about how that must have felt. "That's harsh..." She murmured.

"It was hard." Kish admitted. "But it's also what pushed me onwards. I didn't want my people to die out. I would fight for them until I died..." He smiled wanly at her. "And we both know how that turned out."

Ichigo's stomach turned over at the memory of Kish dying in front of her.

"We're right behind you Ichigo." Kish said. "And we'll continue to stand by you until this war ends."

The pink mew felt tears welling up in her eyes. She jumped up and hugged Kish tightly around the waist, sobbing uncontrollably. Kish hugged her back gently. It hurt him to see his beloved kitten so upset.

**%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%**

Sasha tended to Drew's wounds, placing an ice pack on his forehead. Struggling against his daemon had taken almost all the energy he had to offer. "Oh Drew." She murmured. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

The blonde looked up at her. "It's not your fault." He told her quietly. "Damien knocked me out. I tried to hold him off, but my spiritual energy didn't hold up."

"Speaking of whom..." Sasha gazed down at him. "How is Damien?"

Drew sighed. "I don't know. He's been extremely quiet ever since you decked him in the face during the assault on Tokyo. I can sense rage and confusion, but apart from that I don't know how the battle affected him."

"I can't believe he actually attacked Midnight..." Sasha said sadly. "She loved him. How could he do such a thing?"

"The time locked in the pits of hell must have done wonders for his emotion compass." Drew answered rather sarcastically. "Lucifer probably put him in there knowing that a bitter and heartbroken person would be easier to manipulate."

Sasha's fists clenched. "That jerk. How are we going to stop him?"

"According to Shade, daemons can't exist in the mortal realm without a host, since they aren't alive." Drew recalled, wincing as Sasha cleaned another one of his wounds. "Maybe it would be enough to kill his host, so he doesn't have a fit in the living world."

"He'll be very powerful." Sasha guessed.

"Remember what Lettuce said?" Drew managed to smile at the memory. "We have something he doesn't."

"Faith." Sasha murmured, smiling sweetly down at him. "And love." She gently stroked his face.

Drew's smile widened slightly. "That too." He chuckled.

Sasha leaned over and kissed Drew on the lips. The blonde boy ran his fingers through her hair. Sasha released him and straightened up.

"Sleep well, Drew." She said.

Drew nodded. "You too, Sasha. I love you."

"I love you too..."

**%&%&%&%&%&%&**

Lettuce was exhausted. She had been typing up paperwork to send to the government concerning the attack for hours, and now it was 10:00 and she was getting really tired. The battle had tired her out both physically and emotionally, so it was hard to stay focused.

"Need any help?" Lettuce blinked and glanced up at Pai. He had finished whatever work he had been doing concerning the Mew Training Ground and had walked over to her side.

"Yes." Lettuce said. "I'm trying to send in the evidence that the mews aren't responsible for the attack. It was a group of revolutionary extremists..."

"That's all your going to tell them?" The eldest alien asked, pulling up a chair next to her and turning his laptop on.

"I think we'll end up telling them about the daemons soon enough." Lettuce answered tiredly. "I just think that at this stage they wouldn't take our word for it."

"Hopefully there were some security cameras in the area." Pai said thoughtfully. "If we got lucky, perhaps Damien, Zero or some of their cronies got caught on cam. They don't look anything like the mews, so we'd have video evidence to back up our claim."

Lettuce looked thoughtful. "That would help. Can you check to see if there were any traffic cameras or speed traps in that area that were still functioning during the battle?"

"Of course." Pai answered, turning to his computer and hacking his way through the security fields. Lettuce quickly sent off the emails and started doing the same.

Several minutes later, they had found five cameras that hadn't been wrecked during the struggle. Lettuce grinned happily.

"_**Score!" **_Leviathan said enthusiastically.

"What do you know." A faint smile crossed Pai's face. "We're in luck." He downloaded the files and pulled them up on his desktop. "It'll take some time to restore the images, so we should send an email saying that we'll be sending them video evidence in a few days."

"Yes." Lettuce said, yawning. Pai took her hand in his.

"Shall I get you a sugar drink?" He asked.

Lettuce blushed fiercely at the unexpected contact. "Y-Y-Yes Pai. T-Thanks." 

**%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&**

Zakuro sighed. Putting the younger mews to bed was not an easy task, since they kept giggling and only pretended to be asleep whenever she checked on them.

Shadow walked over to join her. "Finally, I got them off the TV." He complained before smiling. "How's it going over here?"

"It's a struggle." Zakuro answered. "But I don't think they'll be up much longer. It's getting late, after all."

"Hopefully." Shadow agreed. "Jet lag is a pain, so some of the new arrivals may have trouble sleeping."

"I hate jet lag." Zakuro muttered. "Every time I have a photo-shoot in another country, I have to re-adjust."

"It stinks. I had to move here from America after I became a mew." Shadow sighed. "It was the only safe haven known to the world."

Zakuro looked at the black-haired boy and actually smiled. Anyone who knew Zakuro would know that her smiling was a rare occurrence. "I'm glad you came, actually."

Shadow looked up at her, eyes widening slightly. "Really?"

"Yeah." Zakuro leaned against the wall. "Almost every boy I met before you, I couldn't talk to. They would only be interested in my money, publicity, or my body." She fixed her warm gaze on him. "It's nice to have someone I can care about without worrying about their true motives."

Shadow blushed. "T-Thanks Zakuro. I didn't know you thought about my friendship like that." _I am talking to a girl. I am actually _talking _to a girl!_

_**%&%&%&%&%&%%&%%&**_

Pudding couldn't sleep. She was to upset. The whole battle, the strike against her home, had left her sad and scared. She tossed and turned, but couldn't sleep.

Finally, she got up and walked into the halls. Zakuro was still talking to Shadow, so she was able to sneak past them and into the play room, where she hoped that reading an incredibly boring book would keep her mind off it.

"Pudding?" Tart exclaimed. Pudding frantically signaled for him to be quiet, before glancing over her shoulder. Thankfully, it seemed that no one had overheard the outburst.

The little monkey scampered over and sat down right next to Tart.

"Hey! What gives?" Tart asked, although he remembered to keep his voice down.

"I couldn't sleep." Pudding said sadly.

At the tone of her voice, Tart forgot to be annoyed with her. "Why's that?" He asked.

"I can't stand this." Pudding sniffed. Tart looked at her in alarm. Was she going to start crying? Oh no. He didn't know how to talk to a crying girl! What was he supposed to do?

"Can't stand what?" He asked, hoping to distract her.

"The waiting." Pudding muttered. "I should be glad we aren't being attacked right now, but...I saw those freaks. They attacked people in the street on a whim and they were _enjoying _it. And we have to wait for them to strike again. I just...can't sleep knowing that they're out there, getting away with it!" She rubbed her eyes.

Not quite sure what he was doing, Tart wrapped his arms around her. "It'll be okay, Pudding. I promise."

**End chapter**

**Aww! It's all so cute. Everyone got a couple moment! Well, except Damien and Midnight/Leah of course, but I think the whole "he's-on-the-dark-side" thing excuses it.**

**Like it? Hate it? The only way I'll know is if you review!**


	14. Enbodiment of Destruction

**Inner Demons**

**Ichigo: If Kronos shows up, I'll strangle you.**

**Me: That wouldn't make sense in the slightest...he's a Megaman ZX OC...**

**Aerith: Where am I?  
**

**Ichigo: GAH! Who invited the antagonist OC?**

**Me: Behold the weridness.**

**Aerith: Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP, OBVIOUSLY.**

**Chapter 14: Ryou and a mind battle**

***With Drew and Damien***

Drew was nervous when he fell asleep and ended up in the Dark Beach. He wasn't particularly interested in having any of his battle-wounds reopened. It was hard to avoid a person if they were sharing your mind, though.

Damien was sitting down, staring across the water. His expression was unreadable. Drew felt the usual thrill of fear when he faced his shadow.

"_You mustn't show him that you're afraid." _Sasha had told him before he had fallen asleep. _"No matter what." _

Instead of speaking, he sat down a ways away and stared off in the other direction. There was a long pause. Thankfully, it seemed that the irate daemon had decided not to attack him.

Damien was the one to break the silence. "Why are you here Drew? Want to lecture me?"

"I just fell asleep." Drew snapped back, glaring hotly at the other male. Damien snorted and looked away. "You're probably not going to answer, but I was wondering why you've been so quiet. Usually, you always find the time to scream at me for something, throw off my concentration when I'm training."

"Why do you always train with Sasha?" Damien sounded annoyed. Drew sensed some subtext under that statement, which was probably _why do you always have to hang around Leah's host?_

"About Midnight...her real name is Leah, isn't it?" Drew asked bravely. Damien turned around and gave him a glare that informed him that he was walking on thin ice. Drew took a moment to marvel at the similarities between him and the fallen angel. They had the same face and hair, although Damien looked older. His midnight blue eyes were colder than the boys; the scars from his trip to hell showing in his expression all the time.

"Yes. I don't know why she changed it to Midnight-maybe she wanted to throw me off for her trail." If Damien was upset at all, he didn't show it in his voice, and he never had for as long as Drew had known him. Always calculating and cold.

"What does hell look like?" Drew asked. He couldn't help it; he knew it would anger his temperamental shadow but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Geez, I wonder." Damien said in the sarcastic tone he used when wishing to wound but restrained physically. "There are pits of sulfur everywhere, it rains fire, and there are creatures with whips and various weapons of torture there to make your existence miserable for all eternity. Why the hell are you even asking, Drew? Do you WANT me to kill you?"

"You can try." The blonde said defiantly. Damien stood up at that, eyes narrowing. An aura of intimidation emanated from him.

"Is my personal life suddenly interesting? I bet Leah made herself sound like such a martyr, so everyone would side with her."

"Damn it, Damien! You were both idiots!" Inside, Drew was getting nervous. He know how badly a standoff between him and Damien would end. "Serenade tricked you into giving him the water, and even though that didn't work he and Lucifer DID succeed in turning you and Leah against each other!" Drew took a step back and crossed his arms. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. "You're smart, Damien. You wouldn't let Serenade lead you around unless you yourself had something in mind."

Damien smirked cruelly. "Do you think you know everything, Drew? I've already pulled a trigger on something, and the wheels are in motion. Neither you nor the daemons or those idiot humans have seen this coming. You were too busy locking horns to check your troops over for traitors. Lucifer's arrogance lead to his downfall before, and it will again this time."

Drew's eyes widened. A new feeling swept over him-dread tingled with fear. "What have you done, Damien..." He asked, his voice lowering.

A faint cry echoed across the water. Zero materialized out of thin air and darted over towards Damien, eyes glowing. "Dam! It's awake!"

"Good. And stop calling me that." Damien responded, his tone curt. The ground started to shake. "To answer your question, Drew, have you read up on Norse Mythology?"

**(cue music: nightcore monster high)**

A massive shadow was cast over the moonlit beach, followed by a feral roar that sounded like no animal Drew had ever head before. Water surged towards the beach as something tore it's way out of the shadow world's core. A pair of red eyes stared down at the three, eyes burning red like the fires of hell. Huge black batlike wings stretched out from its back until it almost blocked out the moon.

The creature was a dragon. It landed on the beach, roaring again and baring its rasor-sharp teeth. Drew clamped his hands over his ears and spared a second to be grateful he hadn't gone deaf. Zero jumped up and down, grinning like a maniac. _He was waaaaay to happy about this._

Damien turned and smirked, again, at Drew. "Well? What do you think of my ride?" He asked smugly.

"The **Nidhog**?" Drew asked, barely able to force the name out of his suddenly dry throat. The dragon leered at him in response. Damien laughed the kind of laugh that always comes with a crash of thunder in the movies.

"...rew! DREW!"

Drew jerked up in bed. Sasha was shaking him, eyes wide with panic. Ichigo, the lead mews, and everyone who could fight were running through the hallways like crazy people, while an alarm siren wailed in the background. "Drew, wake up!"

"What's going on, Sasha-I had a dream-"

"It's not a dream! The Nidhog is in Tokyo!" Sasha cried hysterically. "We have to go stop it!"

**Downtown**

Damien stood on the shoulder of the Dragon of Destruction, a feral smirk on his face. Daemons and humans alike who tried to take down the humans were torn apart. Elevian, Amy and Zero stood alongside him. Both girl's expressions were tightly neutral. Zero would grin whenever a daemon got whacked.

The world around them was a mass of chaos and fire, creating a living nightmare. The Nidhog had a nasty power; reverse-gravity breath, which made huge areas around it explode and spontaneously catch fire.

Elevian risked a glance at Damien's face. "Does this really have to happen?" She asked quietly.

Damien looked at her, and to her surprise, something seemed off. While the smirk on his face was evil, his eyes were strangely unfocused. "It has to happen." He answered, his voice smooth and strangely quiet. "This is the refining furnas, in which all goes down in flames. The evil must be repelled..."

Zero gave his companion a brief look. "Dude, are you feeling okay?"

Damien blinked, as if he had forgotten something. "Yeah. I'm just fine."

**Lucifer's keep**

Serenade watched the scene unfold with an open mouth and an immediate sense of dread. How had Damien beaten him to the Nidhog? Lucifer would be furious with him for such a horrible miscalculation! If those humans hadn't interfeared, he would have been able to focus on the fallen one-

"Serenade!" The Trickster nearly jumped ten feet in the air at the fury in his master's voice. Lucifer stood in the shadows of his throne, but his fury made the entire room shake. Mayasa jumped at his place by Lucifer's side. "What is the meaning of this? You had told me that Damien was fully brainwashed!"

Serenade shook as Deathbringer walked towards him. He knew that if he didn't say something intelligent quickly, his connection to his host would be cut and he would be banished into the same place Damien had been kept after his wings were broken. He had no desire to stay in that place. "M-My lord, it was a mere miscalculation!"

"YOU CALL THE SUMMONING OF THE NIDHOGG ONTO A SIDE THAT ISN'T MINE A **MERE **MISCALCULATION?" Mayasa howled. Lucifer had entered his body, and he was engulfed in darkness. Lucifer spoke through his host, and everyone trembled in fear of his rage.

"I-I had been focusing on taking out our immediate opponents that I didn't pay enough attention to Damien. I'm so sorry, milord-"

Mayasa/Lucifer backhanded Serenade so hard he flew against the wall. Seething, the Dark Lord turned his eyes upwards.

"If we are to have a chance, I must lead the forces myself.

**End Chapter**

**How do you all like the new twist? I personally think that the Nidhogg is a nice touch. For any mythology nerd like myself who may be reading this, the Nidhogg is the dragon that chews through the roots of the World Tree. And when he succeeds, the tree sustaining all worlds would crumble. **

**So, this means our heroes are up against an embodiment of destruction as well as the daemons! Will they be able to handle it? And who is Serenade's host? Why am I asking you these questions! I don't know, ask the evil plot bunnies that made me work on five stories at once!**

**Like it? Hate it? The only way I'll know is if you review! **


	15. Strike Back: Angel Ichigo

**Inner Daemons**

**Me: Hello, I'm back everyone! **

**Ichigo: Okay, we have to fight the dragon capable of causing the apocalypse! Any ideas?**

**Shade: I hate to say this, but we'll need water from _that_ spring.**

**Sasha: Yeah, because that's something we can _just go and get_. (sarcasm)**

**Mayasa/Lucifer: NO ONE WILL TAKE MY VICTORY FROM ME! Celestial Moonlight Blade does not own TMM or MMP.**

**Chapter 16: Fighting the Dragon part 1**

***With Ichigo and the mews***

The initial response Ichigo had to the Nidhogg was...panic.

The chaos in the streets reflected that as civilians ran in every direction, trying to get as far away from the creature as possible. Ichigo ordered the other mews to focus on leading the people to the safety of the shoreline while she and Shade moved to attack.

"How do we kill this thing?" Leviathan yelled. She was up front with Zakuro and Shadow. Their opponent showed no sign of halting its rampage.

"Try taking its eyes out." Shadow offered while dodging a blast of reverse-gravity breath. "That might help."

"Easy for you to say! You have wings!" Leviathan snapped testily, before jumping upwards to avoid the Nidhogg's bladed tail. Growling to herself, she aimed her guns and fired at the Nidhogg's head. The creature uttered a roar of rage and doubled its assault.

Alyssa grimaced and looked up at the creature from where she and the other trainees were getting people out of the town. "What weaknesses would an embodiment of destruction have?" She asked herself. "Jean, give me your phone."

"What? Why?" The falcon asked, punching a daemon across the face and kicking him backwards.

"I need it! Please!" Jean quickly tossed the lynx mew her phone. Alyssa dialed a specific number and waited.

***With Alicia and Ryou***

"What's going on?" Alicia asked, not quite able to believe what she was seeing on the monitor. Footage of the destruction caused by the Nidhogg downtown. After looking over the footage Lettuce had sent, the other police members were about to search for the rebel mews when the appropriately named "Dragon Crisis" had started. The military members were jumping into various weapons and heading for Tokyo.

Ryou's phone rang, and he picked it up. "Ryou Shirogane speaking." He said tiredly.

"Hi! My name is Alyssa and I'm a mew trainee under Ichigo Momomia!" A frantic girl's voice rang over the speakers.

Ryou was alert instantly, and Alicia switched her attention from the screen to the incoming caller. "It's the end of the world over here and we need to stop that dragon! But are attacks don't seem to be doing all that much! Do you know if the Nidhogg has any weaknesses?"

The blonde's mind was moving a mile a minute. _Nidhogg, nidhogg..._A vague memory appeared in his mind; his father had been teaching him about Norse mythology and the Nidhogg had come up. "I need to find the book." Ryou answered hastily. "Can you hold it off?"

"We'll try. But please hurry!" Alyssa snapped the phone shut and rejoined the fray.

Ryou turned to Alicia. Understanding flashed in the detective's jade eyes. "There's a book in the library. It's on the first floor, so follow me."

***Back with the Mews***

"Ichigo!" Alyssa screamed over the chaos. "Ryou's looking up the Nidhogg's weaknesses! We need to hold it off as long as possible!"

"I hear you, Alyssa." Ichigo yelled back, before shooting her strawberry bell up at the Nidhogg's face. Sasha and Drew joined in, running circles around the beast in a frantic attempt to confuse it. The first wave of jets arrived then, and rounds of high-heat lasers were fired on the Nidhogg from above. Damien cursed and jumped to avoid them. He, Elevian, Amy and Zero all jumped off and met the defending force head-on.

The ground began to shake violently. Cracks appeared in the earth below the daemon's feet, and then all fell to their knees.

Deathbringer let out a cry of surprise. "My lord!" He cried.

Ichigo froze. _Not good. Not good. Not good... _There was an explosion that knocked many of the warriors off their feet. It was followed by a burst of fire, and a daemon like nothing the group had ever seen stepped into play.

Lucifer's long dark hair swept behind him like a cape. His eyes radiated like the furnaces of hell, and a burning mace whipped over his head. His skin was icy pale, and his ragged dark wings stretched out behind him. His armor was blacker than the night sky. Anyone who looked directly at him would freeze with fear. "Damien!" He roared.

"Oh, come on." Kish lamented before slashing a nearby daemon.

***Back with Ryou and Alicia***

Ryou and Alicia tore through the library, searching for the book. Blood thundered to the blonde's head as he scoured the area for the book that could save the lives of millions.

"Where is it?" He yelled.

"It better not be checked out, don't be checked out..." Alicia muttered the words over and over like a mantra as she reached the mythology section, Ryou on her heels.

"There! Right there!" Ryou yelled. Alicia grabbed it and opened it, her trembling hands barely able to turn the pages.

"Let me." Ryou offered, taking the book and madly flipping through it, looking for a page on the Nidhogg. "There!"

**Back with Ichigo and co!**

"Wait, what? Lucifer doesn't have control over the Nidhogg?" Sasha spoke up suddenly. Her friends looked at each other in surprise.

"Hey...you're right..."Alyssa raised an eyebrow at this, confusion in her eyes.

"Traitor!" Lucifer raged. His voice made the ground below the shake and his eyes burned like the fires of his kindgom. "How dare you defy me!"

Damien uttered a low, barking laugh. "Traitor?" He sneered. "I was never one of you!" The Nidhogg roared in challenge and breathed a blast of anti-gravity breath at Lucifer.

"Wait, what? WHAT?" Tart yelled. "Am I missing something here?"

"It aint you." At that moment, Jean's cellphone went off again. Felix tossed it to Alyssa, who answered. "Yes?" She called.

"It's Ryou. According to legend, the embodiment of destruction is only invincible when untainted by goodness." Ryou spoke quickly. "In other words, you have to get taint it!"

"How?" Alyssa shrieked. Sasha's eyes widened.

"The Fountain!" She cried. "We need to get water from the fountain!"

Ichigo nodded grimly. "We'll hold them off from here until you return. Felix, Alyssa, Jean, go with Sasha and Leah."

"But I want to fight!" Felix protested.

"Then get back fast!" Ichigo yelled in a tone that allowed no arguing. Felix shut up and followed Leah, who was running towards the outskirts of the city.

Ichigo watched them leave, her heart pounding in her chest. _Please, please..._She thought desperately. _We need some way to stop the Nidhogg..._

Unbidden, like the time she first transformed, Ichigo began to speak.

"My heart is where my people lie, and they make me strong." She cried. There was a flash of blue light. "Love gives me my strength, and I am unbreakable." There was a double flash. "You cannot break my body, I will push on for those I love." Triple flash. "You cannot break my mind because I will force you back." Her body began to glow. "You cannot break my heart because that is what makes me strong." She raised her hand. "You can't kill me. You can't torture me. You can't touch me. Hellspawn, there is nothing you can do, retreat now! In the name of LOVE!" The last word was screamed as the Strawberry Wand materialized out of thin air.

Before the eyes of shocked onlookers, the Strawberry Wand doubled in length and a giant blue crystal adorned its top. Ichigo was engulfed in light, and when it faded, she looked different. Angel's wings spread from her back, huge and white. Her mew outfit became a pink top and pants. Golden claws extended from her fingers, her eyes slitted like a cats and turned gold as well. White fingerless gloves cloaked her hands. Her hair swished out behind her, complemented by a yellow flower. A sword acros her back and a gun-like device completed the look.

"True Mew Aqua." Pai said, awed. At the same time, all the mews felt a burst of new power surge through them. Their wounds healed, the energy and moral were restored. Power surging through their weapons, the Mews faced their adversaries.

Angel Ichigo smirked into the stunned faces of Lucifer and the Nidhogg.** (insofar as a dragon can have a facial expression...) **_**"Look at the little harmless kitty, huh?" **_She taunted. _**"You've never see me truly bare my fangs."**_

**End Chapter**

**Yahoo! The tables have FINALLY turned for the better! These guys just have to learn that we Humans may be ants to them, but we have a nasty bite :) I admit I made up the Nidhogg's weakness. I tried to reaserch it with no luck, so I bent the mythos a bit. **

**Like it? Hate it? The only way I'll know is if you review! **


	16. The Battle part II

**Inner Daemons**

**Moon: I'm back everyone! **

**Leah: Look out! **

**Damien: Leah...?**

**Angel Ichigo: No! Not like this!**

**Moon: (grinning like an idiot) Good luck! (runs away from Damien) I do not own TMM or MMP!**

**Chapter 16: The Fountain**

**In Battle**

Angel Ichigo floated in mid-air, scowling at Damien and Lucifer. "You two have done enough damage!You've hurt my friends, attacked my apprentices and moved to destroy my entire race! For the future of my planet, I will be of service nya!" She held up her staff as she said this.

Damien groaned. "Trust a child to only see this in black-and-white." He muttered.

"Child?" Ichigo exclaimed indigently. "I'm FOURTEEN, thank you very much, _grampa_!"

Damien's eye twitched violently at the grampa comment. He opened his mouth to say something, but the host of hell's king was faster.

"Ichigo, wait. It's more complicated than that-" Lucifer yelled in annoyance. Angel Ichigo stared down to see Lucifer's form shimmer for a moment, revealing...

"MAYASA! Why are you helping Lucifer?"

Kish gaped. "Is that human for real? He became the host of kitten's enemy? What kind of boyfriend is he?"

Angel Ichigo was beyond angry. "Are you serious? You became the host for LUCIFER? WHY! I thought you cared about the Earth, Mayasa! It was one thing to cheat on me, but _this_? Do you understand what you're DOING?"

"But Ichigo-"

"No Mayasa Aoyama, I don't CARE how complicated it is!" Ichigo raged. "You betrayed me _once_, you've betrayed me _twice, _you've betrayed everyone you know! Just like him!" She jerked a finger over at Damien.

"You know nothing!" The blonde Fallen snapped.

"I know a lot of things, you jackass!" Ichigo snarled. The Nidhogg let out a snort, staring down the glowing cat-angel. "I know how you've betrayed your mate, your host, and now you're trying to destroy our race!"

"I beg to differ." Damien didn't look very happy. "I did what I did to destroy Passage."

That didn't make sense to any of the humans, but the daemons were floored.

"He's trying to WHAT?" Leviathan exploded first. Shade's mouth dropped open, and for a moment Gaia forgot that she was strangling her larger opponent. "Seriously? No-one's attempted that since the year 1000!"

"Aaaaand a translation for us humans?" Shadow asked mildly.

Gaia sighed. "The Passage leads from Earth and Hell. It's how we daemons come to Earth to bond with humans. And to stir up random chaos. If Damien was to destroy it, Hell would be permanently cut off from Earth and, by extension, Heaven, which Lucifer has meant to conquer for centuries. That's declaring war on Hell."

There was a pause as everyone let that sink in. "So... he's trying to cut off Hell from Earth? But... what happens to the daemons stuck in there?" Pudding asked.

"Oh, nothing. Hell is their world. This is just a precaution to prevent them from destroying yours." Damien growled.

Kish gawked at him. "Wait, wait, wait...he was on _our _side the entire time?"

The Nidhogg roared, and a concentrated beam of energy built up in its mouth.

"Maybe we'll discuss this later, when we aren't in danger of being blasted by that monster that we're supposed to be destroying! Get a move on, men!" Angel Ichigo's voice rang with authority, and blue light appeared from her staff. A shield appeared in front of the troops, and even the normal military had the sense to stand back.

Lucifer let out an outraged scream as the Nidhogg fired its blast at the ground. "What are you doing, you stupid reptile?" He roared. "Get rid of the humans! We'll remodel this filthy world later!"

"It's loyal to me, Lucifer." Damien's eyes were cold and deadset on his opponent. "I released it."

Lucifer looked hatefully at the fallen angel. "You worm! I gave you a place at my side, showed you the truth of your backstabbing mate and this is the thanks I get?"

"You tortured me in the pits of your realm until I was rendered senseless." Damien retorted. "I owe you nothing."

"Fool. Perhaps you've forgotten something." Lucifer's tone suddenly became very controlled.

"And what might that be?" Damien asked, ready to pounce.

He didn't expect the evil look in Lucifer's eyes. This wasn't rage, or anything the lord of Darkness had previously displayed. "You forgot that I am, in fact, the devil, Lord of Hell, and ruler of your wretched kind. And if Nidhogg doesn't obey me in thought..." Lucifer conjured up a blast of fire. "It can serve me in CHAOS!" So saying, the lord of Hell wiped a blast of black fire at Nidhogg, striking it right in the eye.

The dragon screamed in rage and moved to attack. Angel Ichigo grimaced.

"This is going to get messy...Sasha, Drew, Leah, Felix, Alyssa...get back soon..."

**With Leah and her group**

Out of all the insane things she'd had to put up with ever since she had become a Mew Mew, Sasha figured this one was the worst.

Getting away from the Nidhogg had been one thing, but the pathway to the Fountain was something out of her nightmares. Fire illuminated the path into the mountain, licking the ground near her feet. Felix stuck next to Alyssa. "Are we there yet?" He asked.

"Almost." Leah said. "Stay focused, people. We might just be going to get water, but that doesn't change the fact that if Nidhogg blasts in our direction, we're French toast."

"I hope everyone's still in tact." Drew muttered. "Scratch that, they damn well better be. We didn't hold out for this long to die now."

Alyssa lifted an exhausted Felix onto her back. "It's not much further." She assured the young mew.

Felix mumbled something before resting his head against the lynx mew's shoulder.

Leah was speed-walking forward, eyes narrowed against the heat. They ran past the fiery chasms and into the heart of the mountain. It grew cooler the further down they went, and eventually they reached an inner cave.

Leah turned and faced her group, violet eyes glowing. "Now be careful. I've told you this before, but any human who tries to drink or recover water from the fountain with selfish desires in their heart will be reduced to dust."

Sasha picked up her metal water bottle and nodded. "Let's go, Leah." she said.

The Fountain was beautiful. Sasha couldn't really describe it; it flowed into a pool, radiating like something not of that world.

Leah walked up to it, unsure. "Do you recognize me?" She asked. There was a pause, and then she spoke again. "I know. I've run into some difficulties, but I never strayed from my path."

"Who's she talking to?" Alyssa asked.

"I don't know." Drew said, frowning. "Maybe it's one of the angels..."

Leah raised her head, startled. "But...I'm disgraced. I've been tainted by Lucifer. I no longer deserve my wings." Another pause. "Damien-" She broke off. "I-thank you. Thank you so much." Suddenly, water erupted from the fountain and engulfed her. Sasha squeaked, and watched in astonishment as Leah's demonic exterior melted away, replaced by two white wings and golden-red hair. She spun around, water droplets exploding around her. Her eyes had turned golden-red as well.

"L-Leah?" Sasha gasped.

"It's okay." Leah said joyously. "The Archangels restored me to my original form so we can stop the Nidhogg!" She raised a hand, and water flowed into Sasha's bottle. "Come on! We have to hurry back!"

**Back With Ichigo and the Armies**

_If Damien had to destroy the Passage, he should have found another way to do it. This Nidhogg is crazy! _Angel Ichigo thought, bringing up a wall of blue light to fend of the creature's anti-gravity breath.

The Nidhogg was going nuts. Maybe it was a natural response to Lucifer's attacks on it, but now it was attacking everything in sight. At this rate, it was going to level Tokyo if they didn't do something.

Zero was with Zakuro and Shadow, while Damien was fighting on his own against Deathbringer.

"Traitor!" There was a slash, and then sudden silence.

"Leah...?" Damien's voice surprised Angel Ichigo. She turned around. Everyone seemed stunned.

The angel was standing in front of Damien, Deathbringer's sword buried in her chest. Leah coughed blood once, and then collapsed.

"LEAH!"

**End Chapter**

**Ow. Well, it's time to start wrapping this up! Did Damien surprise anyone? Next chapter, Lucifer and the Nidhogg are going down once and for all!**

**Review please!**


	17. Catalyst

**Inner Daemons**

**Me: Hello, I'm back! **

**Angel Ichigo: (throws something at me) That was for leaving us on that cliffhanger!**

**Me: (dodges) Aren't you getting used to that? Besides, it's fun to leave you hanging.**

**Angel Ichigo: ! ! ! **

**Me: Shush, shush. I don't want Damien finding me...I _just _managed to loose him! I, Celestial Moonlight Blade, do not own TMM or MMP!**

**Chapter 17: Catalyst**

**With Ichigo and the others**

Leah lunged out and grabbed Deathbringer by the ankle. "...Monster." She hissed, her voice breaking from the effort.

"Wha...! NO! DON'T!"

"...I judge you guilty!"

Her wings lit up like floodlights. Deathbringer screamed once and was reduced to ashes.

Sasha pushed her way through battling opponents, trying to reach the entity who had become her dearest friend. Damien was faster; he knelt next to Leah and picked her up.

"...Why?" The blonde Fallen choked out. Sasha's eyes widened upon seeing tears boiling in his eyes. "Why?"

Leah coughed again, and smiled weakly at him. "Because I love you, stupid." The last word was layered with all the affection she had ever felt for her traitorous love. She touched his face, and there was a blinding flash. Damien returned to his angel form.

"Leah?" Damien started to cry quietly. "Don't leave-I'm so sorry-." Words failed him after a little, and he just held her close.

Angel Ichigo flew down to the ground and ran over to them. Leah was fading fast, her breath growing labored as she continued to bleed.

The Mew Aqua started glowing brightly again. "Damien, I can do something, but I need your help."

Damien looked up, eyes wide. "You...You'll help me? After what I've done?"

Angel Ichigo looked up at him. "I believe in forgiveness." She answered, sparing one second to glance over her shoulder at Kish. "And in a roundabout way, you were trying to protect us. So...yeah, I will." She held her staff over Leah's prone body.

Energy from the Mew Aqua spread over Leah's body, closing the wound Deathbringer had given her. She gasped and opened her eyes again. "What... what was..."

The tender moment was unfortunately interrupted by the Nidhogg, who fired another antigravity blast at them. Angel Ichigo blocked it again. "Did you get the water, Leah?" She asked hopefully.

Sasha ran over. "Yes, we've got it!" She exclaimed, excited.

"Good. Listen. I'm going to distract Lucifer. You guys use the water on Nidhogg. That should pacify it long enough for us to coax it back into its chambers." Angel Ichigo gave her friends a surprisingly cheesy grin. "Sometimes you just need good thoughts to overcome the forces of evil."

She took off and faced Lucifer, who seemed totally taken by surprise by Leah's actions. Leah stood up and faced the Nidhogg. "Damien? You ready?"

The blonde looked at her, smiling for the first time in many, many years. "Yeah."

Lucifer chuckled at Angel Ichigo. "Alright, kitty, now you're just being foolish. I mean, a lot of mews are going to die if this cliché little... power of friendship? Is that it? Power of friendship falls through." Lucifer's eyes, peaking out from behind the perfect facade of Mayasa Aoyama, seemed to twinkle with amusement. "You should join me. You can rule like gods if you join me."

Angel Ichigo laughed. "This is why you always fail, Lucifer. Your lack of conception of human emotion has caused your downfall before, and it will now." The Mew Aqua in her staff began to glow hotly.

Down below, Zakuro and Shadow were holding hands. They were both smiling, as if sharing some inside joke. There was a tint of pink in Shadow's cheeks. Lettuce and Pai were standing together too, staring up at Lucifer with the same determined look. What they weren't saying out loud was practically screamed through their closeness. Pudding was clamped onto Tart's arm, Elevian and Amy were surprisingly close, and everyone-including Mint, Shade, Leviathan and Gaia-were glowing blue.

Drew walked over to Sasha and kissed her cheek. Sasha smiled sweetly at him, and they began to glow as well.

Ichigo smiled. "Power of Love is stronger than you think. Return to the Hell from which you came, master of the underworld. MEW AQUA SHINING!"

And then it got really, really BRIGHT.

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Ichigo felt rather than saw the ground open. The Nidhogg yelped rather than screamed, and a huge black shape whizzed past her. It was headed for the ground.

"Power of Love?" Lucifer's voice was coming from somewhere below her. But she couldn't see. "Does human forgiveness only extend to those who they think deserves it?"

_Don't start with me. _Ichigo tried to say. Her mouth wouldn't open, but her voice echoed around her. _You're here to kill and destroy. You've done nothing worthy of forgiveness. Your a monster who doesn't belong here. _

"I have your ex." Lucifer tried something else. "And he will come with me if you don't stop this foolishness now."

_Mayasa? _Ichigo called. _Were you seriously planning to murder the entire human race just so you could have my as your girlfriend again?_

"Yeah." Mayasa was speaking now. "I was then. Seriously; Ichigo; don't let me fall to hell. Please. You love me."

_I will, but you have to break contract with Lucifer. _Ichigo insisted. _We can't bring him back with us to Earth, you know what he'll do._

"But Ichigo-this power-I can't let go of this power! You don't understand-"

_Don't understand what? The power Lucifer gives you will only be used for evil._

"I can control him!"

_You sure as hell weren't controlling him when he was leveling Tokyo and his lackeys were murdering innocent people!_

"That was just once!"

Ichigo frowned, and let out a long suffering sigh. _Mayasa. We can't afford to take the chance, you know that. _

"Yes, we can. Please, trust me, Ichigo. When have I ever been wrong?" Mayasa said, practically pleading.

_...How about the day you took me for granted and cheated on me? _Ichigo suggested almost sarcastically. _Mayasa, please, just see REASON. Making a deal with the devil has always, always backfired! _

Mayasa was quiet for a moment. "I won't. I need this power to keep you by my side. Always and forever. Like I promised?"

_...You mean literally, don't you? _Ichigo flinched. _I'm sorry, Mayasa._

"...chigo! ICHIGO!" That wasn't Mayasa or Lucifer. _Kish?_

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Ichigo blinked twice, and the light faded away. Now she was lying in a hospital bed. Some dark-haired military girl nodded towards Ryou and put a hand on his shoulder. All of her friends and the better part of her students were there, getting treatment for their injuries. Of the most immediate importance, Kish was hovering over her.

"Kitten, you're awake!" He said happily, kissing the middle of her forehead. Ichigo blushed, her cats ears appearing spontaneously. Nearby, Damien chuckled. "You had me so worried."

"Sorry Kish." She said sleepily. "Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone's present and accounted for." Zakuro spoke up. "I did a head count. The military managed to reduce casualites drastically." 

"The Demons? Lucifer? Nidhogg?"

"They're all gone." Shadow spoke up this time. "Disappeared of the map. There was a huge flash of light after you and Leah used your purity attacks." He grinned. "That showed them, huh?"

Shade put a hand on her forehead. "You're getting better, hikari." She said. "Shall I call your parents and let them know?"

At that, Ichigo sat bolt upright in bed. "Oh crap! I totally forgot! Oh man oh man, how am I going to explain this? I can turn into an artifical angel, my boyfriend's an alien, I have three daemons and two angels for new friends, half my other friends are dating aliens, oh and I just took down the Devil-"

And off she went. Everyone got a good laugh at that before they remembered that they would have to call their respective family members, and one look out the window reminded them that there was a lot, and I mean a LOT, of reconstruction to do.

%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&%&

Thankfully, in the end Ichigo's father WAS okay with Ichigo dating an alien. Lettuce and Pai hit it off, and started an independent library that mews could go to without getting any kind of hassle. Leah and Damien got back together, both of them being guardian angels of Tokyo. Zero and Leviathan hit it off quite spectacular-either Leviathan was chasing him around Tokyo or they were having a long, awkward science. Lettuce figured they'd come around eventually.

Zakuro and Shadow surprisingly started dating as well. Gaia and Pudding became part of a circus troop along with a reluctant jester-Tart. They were a huge hit with younger children, and Gaia's burning chains actually came in handy during some stunts. Elevian and Mint were having an extremely awkward-but-romantic relationship upon the bird mew realizing the eagle was bi. Amy, Felix, Jean and Stephan were working as staff in the library, and Alyssa had tried to for the volley ball team at Ichigo's school. And they all knew one thing for certain

Whatever trouble may arise, even if it came from hell itself, they would face it and destroy it.

"**For the future of our planet, I will be of service NYA!" **

**End Chapter**

**Okay, I admit I'm ending this on a kinda corny note, but hey! I'm glad it turned out the way it did! Thank you to all those who read and I hope you continue to read my other stuff!**


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